


Life in the City

by colour_outside_the_lines



Category: The Haunting of Bly Manor (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/F, Flirting, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Smut, Mutual Pining, No Lesbians Die, No Lesbians Were Harmed in the Writing of this Fic, Pining, Romance, Teacher!Dani, Viola and Dani are related because why not?, florist!jamie, no ghosts, no one is dead, so much pining
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-12 20:34:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 26,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29765229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/colour_outside_the_lines/pseuds/colour_outside_the_lines
Summary: Jamie Taylor is happy in London, owning her own business, living a short walk away from her best friend, Viola Willoughby, and having a steady stream of one night stands, she is perfectly content with her life the way it is. That is until she meets her best friend’s cousin, a stunning blonde woman from America and Jamie starts to question everything she thought she wanted.--Or Jamie is a player who never thought she'd want a serious relationship again, until suddenly she does.
Relationships: Dani Clayton & Jamie, Dani Clayton/Jamie, Hannah Grose & Owen Sharma, Hannah Grose/Owen Sharma, Rebecca Jessel/Peter Quint
Comments: 35
Kudos: 110





	1. This Is the Life

**Author's Note:**

> Another modern-day AU fic in which Dan and Viola are cousins because, well I couldn't really think of a reason why not!! And Viola isn't yet married to Arthur Lloyd!! I hope you all enjoy this first chapter, even if nothing much happens, got a little carried away with setting up Jamie's backstory... Dani will make her first appearance in chapter 2!! 
> 
> Also, side note, each chapter will be named after a song and will have song lyrics at the start of it, though not all chapter titles will be the same as the song used at the beginning of each chapter!! 
> 
> The title for this fic came from the Lumineers song: Life in the City

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title for this chapter comes from the song This is the Life by Amy Macdonald as do the song lyrics at the start of this chapter

**This Is the Life**

**And you singing the song thinking this is the life, and you wake up in the morning and your head feels twice the size— _This Is the Life, Amy Macdonald_**

* * *

As Jamie walked into the familiar coffee shop, the smell of their lemon drizzle cakes, mixed together with the distinct, rich smell of coffee filled her senses and instantaneously made her feel better, even if only marginally. She looked around the building, feeling thankful that there was hardly anyone else in there that early Sunday morning. She passed by some of the other regular customers, giving them the best smile she could muster, as she made her way to the front counter without having to worry about the ridiculously long waiting times, or the many pretentious people that would talk ridiculously loud, that always seemed to go hand in hand with the big chain coffee shops.

It seemed that every time she went into one of them, she learned someone’s life story, even if she wasn’t the one talking to them, it felt like an impossible task to _not_ hear what other people had to say. _Seriously, what happened to people having private conversations_? Jamie mused.

She would never understand why people felt the need to bustle their way into the overly crowded Starbucks stores that littered every single street corner when there were countless smaller and cheaper coffee shops all around them. Jamie had always thought the food and coffee served at Better Latte Than Never was _way_ better than whatever Starbucks served anyway, as was the customer service she always received here. That was why she would happily pass by the Starbucks (which was a two-minute walk away from her flat), every day so she could get her morning cup of tea from here instead.

Of course, it did help that Jamie was on _very_ good terms with the owner of the small coffee shop, she had found Better Latte Than Never not long after she and her best friend, Viola Willoughby, had moved from Manchester to London after they had graduated from university. They had stumbled across it one morning after they’d done a heavy night of drinking to celebrate Viola starting her new teaching position at the local private primary school, Brown's Academy. 

It had been three years since that first morning and she still couldn’t walk past the brightly coloured shop without calling in for something, she went in almost every day and was now on a first-name basis with the owner, Owen Sharma, a charming, man, with an affinity for cheesy puns and terrible jokes.

She hadn’t expected it when she’d first started going there, but Owen had soon become a good friend to Jamie, and now he would regularly give her and her other friends free things whenever they went in for a coffee or a tea, sometimes even if she just called in to say hello and have a quick chat, Owen would give her something. It didn’t matter how many times she tried to pay for the free items, and she did try _every time_ he gave her something, she was always unsuccessful in their small battle. Though, the last few times she had been in there, she had noticed a small tip jar by the cash register and had started to put money in there for Owen.

She pulled herself up onto one of the high stools sitting in front of the main counter, which also served as one of the tables inside the building. She folded her arms on the cold surface and dropped her head onto her arms, using them as a pillow in her fragile state. She loved a night out with her friends as much as the next person, she just didn't like the state she always seemed to be in the morning after. She never learned from her mistakes. 

“Good morning,” A friendly, familiar voice chimed, she could almost hear the smile that resided in it, and again, it helped to make her feel better, bringing a small smile of her own to her face as she slowly lifted her head off of her arms, the throbbing in her head intensifying slightly as she moved.

“Morning, Owen,” Jamie groaned, trying to sound as cheerful as she possibly could, but failing miserably; her voice was slightly raspier due to the heavy amount of drinking and singing she had done the night before. She flashed the older man a weak smile, “How are you feeling this fine Sunday morning?”

Owen smiled brightly, “I feel fine thank you, but I have to admit, I feel even better now you’ve made an appearance, I always get worried on a Sunday morning; I just never know what you’re gonna have gotten up to one of your big nights out with the girls,” He joked.

“Oi… I’m not that bad…” Jamie shook her head, narrowing her eyes playfully, “Not anymore at least,” She added as an afterthought, giving the older man a small shrug.

“Yeah, I know you’re not… I just like winding you all up over stuff,” He admitted, “How are you feeling this morning anyway?” He asked as he started to make Jamie’s drink, she never even had to place her order anymore, Owen knew exactly what she wanted, her order hadn’t changed once since the very first day she had gone in there.

A strong tea with one sugar and in a to-go cup. Always. 

Jamie sighed, “Well, I won’t lie to you Owen, I have felt a hell of a lot better,” She admitted with a soft smile, that didn’t quite reach her eyes, “I feel like death warmed up.”

Owen nodded his head and let out a light chuckle, “Yeah, you look like it too,” He joked.

Jamie smiled and shook her head slightly, “You are quite the charmer, do you know that?” She asked.

He nodded his head slowly, “Yes, you have told me that once or twice before,” He said as he handed Jamie a freshly made almond croissant, “That’s on the house by the way,” He explained pointing at the pastry.

“You are far too good to me sometimes,” Jamie smiled looking down at the croissant before looking back at Owen, “But I really don’t mind paying for it… like, I can afford to pay for a pastry… my business is really picking up y’know?” She asked with a slightly smug smile, she had been bragging about how well her small business was doing to absolutely anyone that would listen to her, after only opening it a year ago, she was feeling pretty proud of herself for how well she had done. 

“Well, that’s all the more reason to give you that for free then,” He gave her a smile, “Besides, you and your friends are some of my best and most loyal customers so it only seems right to give something back…” He trailed off slightly, before clearing his throat, trying to keep his voice casual when he spoke again, “And uh, speaking of your friends… how are they?”

Jamie gave the older man a knowing smile, “If this is your thinly veiled attempt to ask me about Hannah, I can tell you that she is completely fine… she’s been busy with work lately, in fact, all of them have been… for the last week and a half they’ve been doing constant lesson planning and setting up displays for their classrooms for the new school year… me, Hannah, and Rebecca all had a good night last night though… even if we did all drink a bit too much…”

“There’s nothing wrong with letting your hair down every once in a while,” He smiled.

“Well, we had a reason to, Hannah and Rebecca want to let their hair down as much as they possibly before school starts up again... I've already told you the good news about how well my career is going... and also Rebecca just wanted a night out... Peter and Arthur are up in Edinburgh again for work and honestly, Rebecca loves her freedom whenever that man isn't around and I can't really blame her."

"So that's you, Hannah, and Rebecca covered, but what about Viola... she didn't have a good time?" 

"She didn't go," Jamie informed him, "She said she had some stuff to sort out and turned us down... honestly, rejection hurts so much more when it comes from her," She joked turning her mouth down slightly and shaking her head as she picked at the croissant, "You should really come out with us next time," She said with a small teasing smile, "I know Hannah would really like that... I mean we all would but..."

"Jamie, I would be absolutely honoured to join all of you lovely ladies on your next girl's night," He replied with a small smile as he handed her a cup of tea, "I'm assuming you had a good night too? Y'know, even if your other half was missing," He joked. 

She nodded her head and smiled, “Yeah, it was good thanks, well… from what I remember it was a good night… and there are very few things I remember from last night… like I don’t even remember getting home, all I know is I woke up in my bed this morning, but I don’t know how I got there…” She shrugged, “That’s always the indicator of a really good night out though, right?” She asked, “When you can’t remember any of it?”

Owen chuckled and shook his head, “I guess,” He replied, “But I haven’t had a night like that for a long time now, I can’t even remember the last time I went out… it’s been that long…"

"That's your fault, you are always invited out with us you just always reject us..." Jamie pointed out, "And it hurts when you do it too," She teased. 

"I never go out with you because I'm scared I wouldn't be able to keep up... my idea of a night out is a couple of drinks in a quiet little pub and then home to bed... I don't have the same energy the four of you seem to be filled with." 

Jamie gave him a soft smile before replying, “We have nights like that too,” She admitted, “I mean, we hang out at this little bar quite a lot… we just like to get really drunk sometimes too, and you can’t really judge us for that…”

Owen shook his head, “Jamie when have I ever judged you?” He asked with a smile, “I wouldn’t dream of doing any such thing… you’re all young and… mostly single,” He smiled, “Which brings me to my next question how are things going in your love life?” He asked, “Have you broken any more hearts recently?”

Jamie sighed; it was something that Owen regularly asked her; it wasn’t very often that she had actual relationships. In fact, she hadn’t been in a real relationship for a little over a year now, and she wanted to keep it that way. Jamie had always preferred casually dating people. It was easier that way, people were exhausting, and she was yet to find anyone who was worth the effort it took to maintain a healthy and happy relationship.

“No, I didn’t break any hearts last night,” She explained, “There was a group of creepy guys out last night though and they just wouldn’t leave us alone… like, they just wouldn’t fuck off… one tried his luck with me and failed miserably… seemed to think I was playing hard to get at first, tried dancing with me and grinding on me… only seemed to get the hint when I chucked my drink in his face and told him to get fucked.”

“You girls sure do have it rough when you go out don’t you?” He asked, “Whatever happened to people having a little bit of respect for each other?”

Jamie shrugged her shoulders, “I like to think some people have it… you wouldn’t ever do that to someone,” She pointed out, “I know for a fact if you hit on someone and they turned you down you’d take no for an answer.”

He nodded his head slowly, “That is a very good point, I would…” He sighed, “And I am sorry you had to deal with that and that you wasted a drink on him.”

Jamie shook her head slowly, “To see the look on his face and to hear all his mates telling him he deserved it was definitely not a waste… I’m proud of myself for a lot of things last night, that being one of them,” She admitted.

“Yeah? What else are you proud of?” He asked. 

“The fact that I didn’t do anything stupid last night… I don’t remember much, but I do remember that” She replied with a bright smile, “And I think the fact that I didn’t do anything stupid is the very bright, silver lining, to the very dark, and heavy cloud that is currently hanging over my head and making me feel very sick…”

“Nothing stupid at all?” Owen asked, “Not even a drunken tattoo.”

Jamie shook her head, “Nope,” She smiled, “ _And_ I went home alone… or at least I woke up alone,” She joked.

“Well, Jamie, what can I say other than I am incredibly proud of you,” He said with a slightly joking tone to his voice, “I doth my metaphorical cap to you and your behaviour last night.”

“Thanks, I knew you would proud of me,” She smiled, “Seriously, Owen, I’ve gotta tell you this stuff because no one else is ever gonna say they’re proud of me.”

He rolled his eyes, “I don’t know about that, you've done a lot to be proud of in your life, and one day you’re gonna meet someone who tells you that constantly,” He assured her.

“Thank you…” She sighed before taking a sip of her tea, “So, tell me, what is happening in the life of one Mr. Owen Sharma? I feel like we’ve been talking about me for way too long.” Jamie said, changing the subject as quickly as she could. The weight of Owen’s words hanging on her more than they probably should, they had been a friendly comment, words of support from one person to another, he did it a lot, especially when Jamie started to make self-deprecating jokes.

Every time he did give her words of support, Jamie would catch herself feeling far too sentimental and would have to change the subject, if Owen ever noticed her behaviour pattern, he never commented on it, always taking her diversions in his stride.

He shrugged his shoulders, “Nothing to write home about,” He replied, “But then again, there never really is, is there?" He asked "At least not since Mum died,” He sighed, a slightly sad, wistful smile spreading across his face.

Jamie could still remember the day she heard the news about Owen’s mother passing away, and how she had felt a wave of sadness for her friend, accompanying him to the funeral for moral support, and trying to help him with his coffee shop while she tried her hardest to set up her own business. She had never known anyone to be as lost as Owen was the first few months after his mum’s death. For as long as Jamie had known him, his mother had been ill and Owen had lived for her, taking care of her every need, hating any time he had to be away from her and had to ask someone else for help.

Jamie had been so sure that after his mother died, Owen would take some time off work and travel, he always talked about doing that, in fact, whenever he spoke about his small neighbourhood, he always made it sound like he was only there for his mum. But now, he seemed stuck in a rut. His daily routine never seemed to change, and she figured it never would. She knew that she couldn't really say anything about anyone living their life to a set routine, after all, that's exactly what she liked to do; her life was nice, simple, and to some people, it might have looked boring, but to Jamie, life couldn't be any better than it currently was, she could honestly say that she had never, in her whole life been happier than she was right now. 

"So, there's no new woman in your life then?" Jamie asked, already knowing the answer to that question, she watched as a slight blush seemed to creep into his cheeks as a coy smile spread across his face, she took another sip of tea as she watched the older man, waiting for his answer.

He shook his head slowly, “You know that I only have eyes for one woman.” He replied. Jamie nodded her head slowly, she knew he only had eyes for one woman, and she knew that woman was one of her best friends, Hannah Grose, every time she would go into the coffee shop with Jamie, she and Owen would flirt relentlessly but neither one of them had ever actually done anything about it.

“You could always talk to her about that then,” Jamie offered, “There’s only you standing in your own way… never gonna get what you want if you don’t go after it,” She shrugged.

He nodded his head slowly, contemplating what Jamie had said, “Very true,” He replied, “But, that is only like me telling you to get yourself out there and find Mrs. Right… you never know she could be just around the corner.”

She shook her head slowly, “I don’t know… I mean, I totally get it if people want to settle down and get married and have kids and all that stuff… but I don’t think relationships are really _my_ thing,” She explained, “I mean let’s face it… all relationships have some sort of expiration date, right? I mean, you’re either gonna break up with the person… or you end up marrying them… which could still end in divorce... or you watch each other grow old and then you just... die… It’s sort of one extreme to the other, and that is kind of terrifying to me… it’s exhausting to think about… let alone do… so I am fine not doing the whole relationship thing thanks… I’m perfectly happy this way.”

Jamie was just being honest, relationships were messy, and she didn’t have many experiences of good relationships, her parent’s marriage had broken down when she was young, and even when they were together, they hadn’t been the glowing model of what a relationship should be, even as a child Jamie had known things weren’t right with her parents, they would fight with each more than they would have civil conversations.

Then there were her own relationships which seemed just as terrible; the last time she had been in a relationship, it had been a disaster, they had started out as friends, and feelings had developed, Jamie had fallen hard and fast and when it ended, she was the one who was left feeling hurt and broken. She wasn’t sure she would ever be able to put herself back out there and ever risk feeling that way again. The way she lived now suited her fine, it kept her satisfied physically and kept her from being destroyed emotionally at the hands of someone she thought she could trust.

Owen shook his head slowly, letting out a light chuckle, “Don’t you think that all adds to the excitement of it?” He asked, “Taking those risks are part of the ride, Jamie,” He smiled, “Growing old with someone is the preferred outcome… I know what you went through with Zoey wasn’t ideal and I know it left you hurt… but not everyone is going to do what she did… you can’t think all relationships are going to be like that one.”

Jamie rolled her eyes and sighed heavily, “I don’t know, I guess, there just aren’t many people out there who are worth taking a risk for,” She shrugged, “So, my steady string of one-night stands suits me just fine…"

“You’ll find someone worth the risk one day,” Owen replied confidently, “I know you will, I can’t say when, or how… or where… but she’ll come for you when she’s ready… you can’t rush these things, Jamie… but I do believe there is someone out there for you and she is getting to you as fast as she can.”

“You think?” Jamie asked, her heart fluttering slightly, at the thought of there being someone who might be worth the risk, at the thought of there being someone who might be worth the effort and who might feel the same way about her. 

He shook his head and gave her a tight-lipped smile, "I _know_ so." 

“Well, when I find her, I’ll let you know,” Jamie said, “And while we’re on the topic of this, the next time Hannah is in here, you're going to do something about it. You’re talking about people who are worth a risk and that woman is,” She pointed at him before she pushed herself up from her seat. 

He sighed and nodded his head, “I think you might be right, and I suppose I really should practice what I preach shouldn’t I?”

Jamie nodded her head, “Yeah you should… if I find out she’s been in here and you haven’t done anything about it…” She shook her head, “There’s really not much I can do, but I won’t be happy with you.”

“I promise, I will put myself out there,” Owen replied as he made himself busy wiping down the front counter, “Are you going now?” He asked.

“Yeah… I’ve got some stuff to do, I might not look like a busy person, but I assure you that I am,” She lied, well, it was partly a lie, she had a lot to do so she could prep for work tomorrow; she’d been given a large order that needed completing by 6 pm the following day and she still had over half the centerpieces left to do, she needed to finish the bride’s bouquet and she still had two of the bridesmaid’s bouquets to finish.

She’d already decided she was going to keep the shop closed tomorrow so she could complete the orders, and she knew, she to really get ahead of herself she should probably get started today. However, she also knew, that with the way she was feeling, half of the things she needed to do that day would be left undone. She felt sick to the pit of her stomach, her head felt twice the size it usually did, and she just didn’t have the energy.

“Thank you for everything today… the tea… the food… the amazing company and that very nice pep talk,” She smiled at him before paying for her tea and leaving him a large tip, “You might not let me pay for the food, but you can’t stop me from leaving you a tip,” She said, knowing her ‘tip’ covered the cost of the pastry, and then some, she placed the money in the tip jar by the cash register and watched as Owen shook his head slowly.

“You really don’t need to do that, but I appreciate it all the same,” He replied.

“I know I don’t need to, but I want to… I’ll probably call in later today… and if not, today then I’ll definitely call in tomorrow; I’ve got a really busy day,” She grumbled, “I am definitely gonna need a proper brew or a strong coffee to get me through it, and you make the best tea and coffee in the whole of London." 

Owen laughed lightly and shook his head, "That might be a huge exaggeration, but I'll take the compliment all the same," He grinned, "Thank you for calling in and brightening up my morning, it was as always, a pleasure..." He smiled, "I'll _tea_ you later." 

Jamie groaned through a quiet chuckle and shook her head slowly, waving goodbye to the older man as she headed back out into the rain, she pulled her hood up and walked back to her flat as quick as she could; luckily, she didn’t live _that_ far away from Better Latte Than Never, and she had to admit; the crisp, morning air washing over her, and the rain hitting her face did help to clear her head a little, she had never loved the rain, but it definitely felt refreshing in her hungover state of being. 

As soon as she got back to her flat, she kicked her shoes off, and shrugged out of her jacket, and headed over to her couch, dropping down onto it gracelessly, being as careful as she could be to not spill any of her tea. She took a sip before placing it on the coffee table and grabbing her laptop, opening up her online banking account and doing her monthly budgets, paying her bills, and seeing just how much she’d have left for herself, before accessing her business accounts, and checking all of her ingoings and outgoings to make sure she was on track for her quarterly projections. 

Jamie had never been a huge fan of maths until she had needed to be when opening up her own business, The Leafling, a small florist situated on a quiet street in Camden, while she loved owning her own business and working for herself, dealing with the accounts was definitely her least favourite thing about it, and there were still some days when she would call Viola for help to double-check her books and accounts for her to make sure she hadn't made any mistakes. Viola had always had better maths skills than Jamie had. Her phone buzzing in her pocket pulled her attention away from her laptop screen, she pulled the phone from her pocket and frowned when she saw Viola’s name, it was unusual for Viola to call her at all, usually, they kept most of their conversations for in person or through texts.

She answered the call with furrowed eyebrows, “Hello?”

“Finally, I've been trying to get through to you for ages... I didn't wake you did I?" Viola asked, her words coming out in a slight rush and her tone excitable

"Uh, no you didn't wake me... I didn't realise you'd tried calling me though, I was talking to Owen, must have been too occupied to know my phone was ringing... why what's up?" 

“Oh, okay, great, that means you’re dressed… is there any chance you could come over, I have some news… and I want to tell all of you in person.”

“Yeah, sure, just let me get my shoes and coat and I’ll be there ASAP,” She sighed, “Everything’s alright isn’t it?” She asked, as she closed down her laptop, “I mean, it’s very rare you call a group meeting just to give us news… you all good, yeah?”

“Yes,” Viola replied, “I’ll tell you more when you get here… I’ll see you soon,” And with that the line went dead, leaving Jamie holding the phone against her ear with confusion coursing through her body.

She let out a heavy sigh before placing her laptop back on the table, and rushing to pull on her shoes and jacket, slipping her phone back in her pocket as she left her flat, all but running down the three flights of stairs and out onto the rainy street once more. She walked the short distance from her block of flats to Viola’s her mind reeling with all the possible outcomes of why she had called her to go over, and why whatever news she had couldn’t wait until later.

Jamie pushed the heavy door to the slightly more luxurious building, open and took the stairs two at a time, when she reached the top of the fifth floor, she could feel her lungs burning slightly, and made a mental note to spend a little more time at the gym and a little less time smoking. She used her spare key to Viola’s flat to let herself in, furrowing her eyebrows slightly at the sight of Rebecca and Hannah already sat on the couch nursing cups of tea, “How the fuck did you two get here before me?” She asked, her breathing ragged, “You called these two first?” She turned her attention to Viola, giving her an incredulous look.

The dark-haired woman shook her head slowly, "Noo, I told you on the phone I'd tried calling you but got no answer, I tried three times and had no luck... so I called Rebecca and then I called Hannah, they actually answered... after I'd invited them around I left it a little while and called you again," She explained, "Honestly I just assumed you were trying to sneak your way out of some girl's flat..." She shrugged. 

"I think you will find that I went home alone last night actually," Jamie replied giving her a slightly smug smile, "If you had joined us, you might have known that." 

"You went home alone?" Viola asked, disbelievingly. 

"Yeah, I did." 

"Well, they do say there's a first time for everything,” Hannah muttered, letting out a breathy laugh as she shook her head slowly, Jamie gave her an unamused look before shrugging out of her coat and hanging it on the coat rack by the door.

“So, what’s all this about then?” Jamie sighed as she dropped down onto the couch next to Viola, I mean, you ring us _early_ on a Sunday telling us you’ve got some exciting news, it better actually be something good now I've just sprinted up those stairs.”

“It is good, or at least, I think so,” Viola shrugged her shoulders.

“Oh my god, are you pregnant?” Rebecca asked, a beaming smile spreading across her face.

Viola shook her head quickly, “No I'm not, Arthur and I have only been together a year, we're fine with just living together for now," She smiled, "This is...different... so you know how I didn’t go out last night and how I’ve pretty much been absent for a lot of things over the last few weeks?” She asked, Rebecca, Hannah, and Jamie all nodded their heads, “The reason, I’ve been missing is because I’ve been getting stuff set up for the new year five teacher that’s starting after summer break… a teacher that happens to be a relative of mine…”

"So... you haven't been able to hang out with us... all because you were trying to help someone get a job?" Jamie asked, her tone turning slightly scathing, "And why exactly do they need your help? Are they not capable of getting a job themselves?" 

“It’s not like that at all, she’s my cousin,” She explained, “And she’s recently moved to England, apparently after she graduated, she worked in an elementary school in Iowa for a bit… but she just sort of upped and left near the end of the year… and she moved here a couple of months ago, and I guess I pulled some strings and helped her get a job, it took us both a lot of convincing Henry to hire her and sponsor her for a visa... I might have thrown my weight as the deputy headteacher around a little... but he eventually agreed and she’s moving here in the middle of next week.”

“Your cousin from the states?” Jamie asked, “As in your really fit cousin?”

“I have to be honest I don’t look at my cousins that way,” Viola replied shaking her head slowly.

Jamie rolled her eyes, “Fine… are you talking about your blonde cousin, the one that’s on the pictures with you on your Facebook?” Viola nodded her head slowly, a wide smile spread across Jamie’s face, she’d admit, she was a lot more interested in this conversation now than she had been before, she opened her mouth to say something before Viola held up a hand to cut her off.

“Yeah, that cousin, and I really don’t wanna hear anything you have to say about her,” She said, her voice taking on a warning tone, while they had been separated by an ocean, and rarely saw each other, Jamie knew how close Viola and her cousin were.

They spoke multiple times a week on the phone, and there had been the odd time that Viola had flown out to see her during breaks from school, or her cousin had flown to England to visit her. None of them had ever met Viola’s cousin, they had only heard stories about the other woman, it had felt like Viola was doing all she could to prevent them from meeting her, but now, it seemed she couldn’t keep them from meeting her for much longer.

“Whoa, calm down, all I was gonna do was ask why she’s moved to England?” Jamie asked, “Like of all the places she could have gone she’s picked a pretty shitty one don’t you think?”

Viola shrugged, “This is what I said to her too… but she just told me she couldn’t stay in Iowa any longer, that she needed to get out of that town, and that she thought about coming here first because she has family here… which makes me worry a little bit, I won’t lie… I just feel like something must have happened… like something has pushed her out… y’know? She’s not a quitter, so the fact she’s just left makes no sense…”

“You think something has pushed her out of the states?” Hannah asked, “Like what?”

Viola shrugged, “I don’t know, but I guess I’ll find out,” She replied, “She’s actually gonna be living here, I've been sorting out the spare room for her, I started working on it when she told me she was just planning on staying in a hostel until she could find a place to live... after hearing that I all but begged her to move in here until she found her feet and got a place of her own... there was no way I wanted her to stay in any of the places around here... she didn't seem too happy about staying here at first but she reluctantly agreed."

"Why wasn't she happy about living here?" Hannah asked, "This building is gorgeous." 

"She just said that she didn't want to be in anyone's way... which I told her was completely ridiculous and that I wouldn't have offered her the spare room had I not wanted her to stay here... but she said that she didn't want to disturb Arthur and I and that she understands a couple needs their own space." 

“Well, I mean, if she doesn’t want to be a nuisance to you two, I am more than happy to—”

“Jamie, can you just shut up about my _cousin_ for like, five minutes, please?” Viola cut her off, shaking her head slowly, “There is no issue with her living here, I mean, Arthur works away more often than not anyway, which means it’s usually just me here… it might be nice to have someone else around even if she’d only here for a few months.”

“But Arthur and Peter are back here next week, for like, the whole week.” Rebecca reminded her, “Surely that’s going to be a little awkward you’ve not seen him for a while, and now your cousin is going to be in the next room…”

“It’s not an issue…" Viola shook her head slowly "Besides… Arthur is really looking forward to meeting her and she’s looking forward to meeting him, every time I’ve been to America I’ve just gone with Perdita.”

“Sounds like you’ve got it all figured out,” Jamie replied, “My question is when do we get to meet her?” She asked with a small smirk.

Viola shook her head slowly, “I don’t think I ever want you to meet her.”

"Then you shouldn't have used nepotism to get your fit cousin a job with the three of you and offered her a place to stay," Jamie pointed out, "We're all here a lot Viola... I don't think you can really do anything about it... I'm gonna meet her at some point... you might as well just let it happen," Jamie chuckled and gave a small shrug.

“Maybe we should find out her name, I mean, it’s that or she’ll just be known as Viola’s-Fit-Cousin until we actually meet her,” Rebecca smiled.

“Yeah, I really don’t want that,” Viola sighed, “I also don’t want Jamie to know her name and try and track her down on social media.”

“I’ve already done that a few times, love,” Jamie admitted, “Every time you post anything, and she comments on it I’m clicking straight on her profile,” She shrugged, “I already know _Danielle’s_ name.”

Viola’s jaw seemed to tense at Jamie’s words, “You Facebook stalked my cousin?” She asked.

“Facebook, Instagram… if I could find her, I looked at her profile,” She admitted, “And I really have no regrets in doing so… she posts some great stuff,” Jamie smirked, “I’m actually quite looking forward to meeting her an—”

“No,” Viola snapped, “Not happening, don’t even think about it,” She shook her head, “If I ever ask you to do anything in life it’s to stay away from her... okay?" She asked. 

“That only makes me want her more,” Jamie joked.

Viola glared at her, and opened her mouth to say something before Rebecca cut her off, “Well, I for one can't wait to meet her and work with her," She smiled, "And I promise you my intentions are a lot more innocent than Jamie's are," She added with a small laugh. 

"I think you'll all like her," Viola replied nodding her head slowly, "I think the world of her, I didn't see her much growing up, but she's still one of my best friends," She admitted, launching into a conversation about her cousin, regaling countless stories from the visits she’d had to the states or the odd time her cousin had been in England, telling each one of their stories with the brightest smile Jamie had ever seen her wear. In all the time she had known Viola, she had never known the other woman to be so excited about something. She had also never heard so many ridiculous stories in her life and had never expected Viola to have done half of the things she and her cousin apparently had. It appeared that the stories Viola had told them all in the past had been the tamer stories they shared. 

Her head might have been pounding, and her stomach reeling, but she was getting to spend her Sunday morning, laughing and talking with her three best friends and Jamie supposed that as far as hangovers go, hers could have always been worse.


	2. When We Frist Met

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The lyrics at the start of this chapter come from the song Shelby 68 by Kylie Minogue  
> and the chapter title comes from the song When We First Met by Geri King 
> 
> I hope you enjoy this update!!

**When We First Met**

**There was nothing on Earth that a girl could to the very first minute that I laid my eyes on you.** **Turned sheets to the wind, I was all confused, like burning my money, nothing left to lose** **I knew, I was doomed— _Shelby 68, Kylie Minogue_ **

* * *

It had been a week since Viola had shared the news that her cousin, Danielle, was going to be living with her and since then she hadn’t really talked about much else, always sharing more stories from their childhood and arranging a night for them all to go out for drinks so that could finally meet her. 

Jamie walked into the bar a little later than they had all originally planned to meet. It wasn’t _entirely_ her fault; She'd had the day from hell, nothing seemed to be going her way that day, and when she'd sent a confirmation text to find out who would actually be out tonight, her heart sank at the knowledge that Owen had had to cancel and that Peter Quint was one-hundred percent going to be there, she had wanted nothing more than for their roles to be reversed, wishing Peter had suddenly had something to do instead. 

Jamie dropped herself down into the booth next to Rebecca and shrugged out of her jacket with a huff. She allowed the jacket to drop onto the seat, pooling around the lower half of her torso, “Sorry I’m late,” She grumbled, “I got held up at work, I have been swamped all day... and then when I was finally able to leave the tube was just shite, with so many delays before it actually got to my stop and then even more delays while I was on the train and..." She trailed off and shook her head slowly, "Honestly, I just _really_ need a drink at this point, I am so ready for today to be over." 

“Don’t worry about it,” Rebecca replied with a small shrug, “Viola isn’t here yet and she’s the one who actually cares about any of us being late.”

“Hang on, Viola sits and lectures me constantly about how I need to start being more punctual and all that shit, and she’s not even here?” Jamie asked, her eyes narrowing slightly as she thought about all the times the taller woman had been annoyed at her for being late in the past.

“Well, to be fair she has spent the day with her cousin,” Hannah replied with a small smile, “I mean, they haven’t seen each other in a while, I’m sure they had a lot of catching up to do… surely we can make an exception for that.”

“Oh yeah, forgot the nepotism twins were out tonight,” Jamie lied, she hadn’t forgotten, she hadn’t forgotten at all, she had just known better than to show how much she was looking forward to finally getting a chance to meet the gorgeous blonde.

In the past week, Danielle seemed to appear on Viola’s posts more than ever, which inadvertently meant that Jamie found herself on Danielle’s profile more than ever.

“Are you going to make a crack about nepotism every time someone talks about them?” Rebecca asked, “Because there’s really nothing wrong with what Viola did. It’s not like her cousin isn’t qualified for the job.”

“I guess,” Jamie mumbled with shrug, she turned her attention to Arthur and furrowed her eyebrows at the older man, “How come you’re not with them right now?” She asked.

“Because Viola and Danielle have been busy all day trying to get Danielle's classroom set up for when school starts again on Monday, in fact, they did the same all day yesterday too," He explained, "Danielle got to our place around noon on Wednesday, Viola helped her get her stuff unpacked and then the three of us went out for dinner, it was nice finally getting to meet her, I mean, Viola talks about her _all the time_. Seriously, she talks about Danielle more than she talks about her own sister.”

“Well, yeah, but like as far as sisters are concerned, she’s not exactly that close to Perdita, is she?” Jamie asked, “I mean when I first met Viola she’d hardly ever mention her, in fact, when I found out she had a sister I was pretty shocked,” She admitted, “Think it was our relationships with our siblings that really solidified our friendship if I’m honest.”

Much like her best friend, Jamie had never had the best relationship with her siblings or one of them at least, while she loved both of her brothers, she had no shame in admitting she didn't like one of them, her eldest brother, Denny, they'd never been close, just like Viola and Perdita had never had the strongest of sisterly bonds. 

“I didn’t know she had a sister until she wanted me to meet her family,” Arthur laughed, “Imagine showing up at your new girlfriend’s family home, expecting to meet the parents and you meet a sister too," He shook his head, "With the way she talks about them you'd think Perdita was the cousin and Danielle was the sister, seriously..." He sighed before taking a drink of his beer. 

“So, what’s she like then?” Rebecca asked.

“She’s nice…” Arthur replied with a small smile, “I liked her at least.”

Hannah nodded her head slowly, “Nice?” She asked, “That as good as it gets?”

Arthur rolled his eyes and said, “Well, I don’t really know what else to say about her… she was funny I guess… she’s different to Viola in a lot of ways… but similar in some… I guess…”

“Do you think she’s gonna fit in?” Peter asked, “I mean, I can’t imagine having to put up with a Yank full time,” He joked, “Feel sorry for you and Vi having to live with her.”

Jamie rolled her eyes at him, trying her hardest to not give him the attention he so craved from his borderline offensive comments, she found it ironic that someone like Peter Quint would ask if Danielle was going to be a good addition to their small group, especially considering the fact that Rebecca and Arthur seemed to be the only people that actually liked Peter. Of course, his question was fair, not that Jamie would ever let him know that she’d been wondering the same thing herself. They had a dynamic, they had their own little ways and traditions, their group just worked that way and it had ever since Viola introduced Jamie to Hannah and Rebecca her first week working at the school with them.

Peter had been the next addition to the group when he and Rebecca started to date a year and a half ago, and then there’d been Arthur who had been invited out one night by Peter in order to meet Viola. It was very rare that any other outsider slipped into their group as easily as Peter and Arthur had, even exes or herself, and Hannah hadn’t been able to fully integrate their way into the small group of friends. Of course, that probably had more to do with the fact that a lot of Jamie’s past relationships had been short-lived flings, and Hannah hadn’t dated much since her marriage ended, but still, no one they ever introduced to the group seemed to fit.

Arthur nodded his head slowly, “Uh, yeah… I think so.”

“I don’t think we really have a choice in the matter, right?” Rebecca replied, “I mean… she’s Viola’s cousin… don’t sort of have to accept her no matter what?” She asked furrowing her eyebrows slightly.

“No,” Peter scoffed, “If she turns out to be boring or a fucking bitch I say that we just be honest about it… there’s no point in bullshitting about these things, besides, when I’ve invited people to join us before you’ve all frozen them out… don’t see why this should be any different.”

“Because this is a relative of someone,” Hannah pointed out, “And not just anyone… Viola at that and we all know how she can be,” She sighed.

Viola was the worst person for letting new people join the group; she had set things that she always wanted in new people: one, they had to be interesting, anyone boring would be shunned by her immediately, two, they had to be intelligent or at the very least be able to hold some sort of intelligent conversation, and three, and this was by far the most important, they must be able and willing to join their karaoke sessions, no matter how talentless they might be. Their karaoke nights were something of friendly competition for them and for that reason, anyone sitting at their table during karaoke nights had to compete. 

Arthur nodded his head slowly, “In a way yeah, we do have to just tolerate her whenever she’s around us, which is gonna be a lot, Viola is really excited to have her here… but I really do think you’ll like her…” He admitted, turning his attention to Jamie, “I think some of you will like her a bit more than others…” He gave her a small smile.

Jamie gave him a tight-lipped smile, “Viola’s told you what I’ve been saying then?”

He nodded his head, “Oh yeah, hasn’t shut up about how inappropriate you’ve been.”

“I don’t see what the issue is, I mean, really you’d think she’d be used to it now… she’s known me since our first year of uni and lived with me a while after that too… why is she still acting surprised?”

“Because this time the shit your saying is about someone she cares about,” Arthur replied with a small smile, “When you’re saying it about random bimbos it doesn’t bother her, she finds it amusing… but when you say it about her cousin…”

Jamie rolled her eyes, “She knows I’m harmless… mostly anyway…”

Arthur sighed and gave her a tight-lipped smile, “Just try and tone it down a bit?” He asked, “For tonight at least… I mean… it’s the first time you’re meeting the woman…”

“Fine… I promise…” She replied, her phone buzzing in her pocket pulled her attention away from the older man, she pulled it out and saw Viola’s name on her screen, she turned her attention back to Arthur, “I promise I will be on my best behaviour…” She flashed him a quick, “For tonight at least,” before he had a chance to reply to her she answered the call, “Hello?” She said holding her hand up as if to silence the man.

“ _Jamieeeee!”_ She pulled the phone away from her ear and winced at the high-pitched excited greeting coming from the other line.

“Hey Viola,” Jamie smiled at the man sitting opposite her, a look of confusion washing over his face as he mouthed, _why is she calling you and not me?_ Jamie raised her middle finger at the man and mouthed back _because she loves me more_ _than she loves you,_ wearing a smug smile, “You sound far too excited for a woman that’s been helping someone else do their job all day… you alright?” She asked, not being able to hide the smile that made its way to her face when she heard her best friend sounding _that_ happy.

“ _Well, that’s because when we got home, we started drinking while we got ready,”_ She admitted, _“So we might already be a little bit tipsy… is everyone ready to meet her?”_

“Yeah, they seem it,” Jamie sighed, “Arthur is like, really moody though…” She teased, “I don’t think he liked her all that much… called her a bitch actually if I’m being honest…”

“ _He called me a what?”_

The sound of an unfamiliar voice and accent caught her off guard, she screwed her face up slightly, and took a breath, “I’m on speakerphone, aren’t I?” She asked.

“ _Yes_ ,” They answered simultaneously, she could hear the slight hint of irritation in Viola’s voice.

Jamie nodded her head slowly, “Yeah seems about right for my luck,” She sighed, mentally kicking herself for her comment.

“ _So, Arthur called me a bitch, huh?”_ Danielle asked, Jamie couldn’t help but smile slightly, feeling a little calmer as she heard the playful tone of the other woman’s voice.

“No… that was actually just a really shitty attempt at a joke,” She admitted, “Though to be fair it’s not entirely my fault… I mean… people who eavesdrop never hear nice things about themselves,” She teased.

_“Oh, so this is all my fault?_ ”

“No, I’m willing to share the blame with you,” She replied, doing her best to ignore the confused looks of her friends.

“ _That’s really nice of you, thank you,”_ Dani said sardonically.

“So, how’re you finding England?” Jamie asked, finding herself enjoying the sound of Dani’s voice far too much and wanting to hear just about anything the other woman had to say.

“ _That’s enough… I’m gonna hang up now… you can ask her all this when we get there,_ ” Viola sighed in exasperation.

“Alright mum, calm down,” Jamie teased rolling her eyes, “I’ll see you soon… you too Danielle.”

_“Bye…_ ” Danielle said.

“ _Right, now that’s over with… I’m gonna say goodbye too, we’ll be there in like five minutes… get the drinks in for when we get there, yeah?”_

Jamie nodded her head, despite Viola not being able to see her, “Yeah sure thing… what are you having?”

" _I'll have a gin and tonic,_ no ice _and Danielle will have a-"_

_“I’ll just have a beer… or larger,” Danielle said, cutting her cousin off._

“Okay… nice and simple, got it… I’ll see you both soon… bye,” She hung up and slipped her phone back into her pocket smiling at the rest of the group, “Apparently they’re like five minutes away…” She sighed, “Oh and Viola told me to ask you to get the next round for when they get here,” She said pointing to Arthur.

“Best get to it then… master’s orders and all that,” He smiled pushing himself up from his spot in the booth, “What are we all having?” He asked.

“I’ll have another pint of John Smith’s please,” Peter smiled before draining his glass and handing it to Arthur.

“I’ll have a vodka tonic, please,” Rebecca smiled.

Arthur nodded his head slowly, before turning to Hannah, “I’ll have another white wine spritzer, thank you," She said.

“Got it… and what do they want?” Arthur asked.

"Viola wants a gin and tonic, _extra_ ice, and Danielle just wants a pint of larger… she didn’t say what kind she wanted though,” She shrugged, “And, I just have the same as her, a pint thanks.”

Arthur nodded his head before turning on his heel and heading to the bar, “So, how did she take being called a bitch?” Rebecca asked with a slightly bemused smile, “Wasn’t exactly the best first impression was it?”

“Jamie never makes a good impression, doesn’t matter how many times you meet her,” Peter joked with a smirk.

Jamie rolled her eyes and ignored his comment, “Honestly she took it pretty well,” She admitted, “She didn’t seem fazed by it at all.”

“And the slight flirting, I assume she was okay with that too?” Hannah asked giving Jamie a knowing smile.

Jamie rolled her eyes and shook her head, “That wasn’t flirting…” She replied, “Trust me, you’ll all know if I start flirting with her.”

“I think you’ll know if you start flirting with her too because your life won’t be worth living,” Peter chuckled, “In fact, I think Viola might kill you…” He paused before speaking again, “On second thought I highly encourage you to hit on the girl all night.”

“Viola wouldn’t do that, she likes me too much,” Jamie replied with a small shrug.

A slow smirk spread across Peter’s face, “Guess it’s time to put that theory to the test,” He nodded in the direction of the door behind her, “Looks like your next mistake just walked through the door.”

Jamie looked over her shoulder to see Viola and her cousin striding towards them, one walking with seamless grace, as always, while the blonde beside her seemed to be heavy-footed, as she kept the same pace as Viola. She’d thought Danielle was attractive from her pictures, but how she'd looked in them had nothing on how truly beautiful she was in person, she was stunning, even. Jamie was sure she had never seen someone this attractive in her whole life.

Her eyes shone with excitement, and her smile seemed bright enough to light up the whole bar as she spoke animatedly with the cousin.

“Jamie…” The sound of her name caught her attention, she gave a quiet hum, but made no effort to look away from the blonde woman approaching them, “You might wanna wipe the drool off your face before they get over here,” Rebecca joked.

Jamie turned her attention back to her friends and shook her head slowly, “I’m not drooling,” She replied, her eyebrows furrowing slightly, she hadn’t realised how much she’d been staring at Danielle until Rebecca said something. She usually had a little more tact than that, was usually able to hide her interest more, at least until she wanted to make a move. But then again, she’d never seen anyone like this woman before.

She opened her mouth to say something else, to make a witty comeback, but the sound of Viola’s voice cut her off, “Everyone, this is Danielle,” She smiled gesturing to the blonde beside her, “Danielle, this is Peter, Rebecca, Hannah…” She pointed to each of them respectively, pausing when she reached Jamie, who was once again staring, her gaze wandering over the blonde’s body slowly, taking in every asset of it. Viola reached out and pinched Jamie, eliciting a surprised yelp from her, “And you’ve already spoken to Jamie.”

Jamie rubbed the spot on her arm that Viola had just pinched harshly. She knew what it had been for, and it seemed that Viola was just as protective of her cousin as Arthur had made her out to be.

“Hey, it’s really great to meet you all,” Danielle smiled at the group before turning her attention to Jamie, her smile growing a little wider, “And, uh, it’s really nice to put a face to the voice…” She nodded her head slowly, “Even if the voice did call me a bitch…”

“In my defense, I didn’t call you a bitch… I said Arthur did…” Jamie replied with a slight shrug, “And I thought we agreed that we were sharing the blame on that one?” She asked with a small smile, “You already backing out?”

“Maybe…” The blonde nodded, she opened her mouth to say something else before Arthur arrived at the table, carefully balancing a tray full of drinks.

“Okay, so that should be it for everyone, and I got us all some shots to fully celebrate the new arrival,” He explained with a small smile, gently placing the tray on the table.

“Thank you,” Viola smiled, leaning in to place a quick kiss on Arthur’s cheek, as she directed Danielle into the booth, sitting her next to Peter and opposite Jamie, while Viola sat on the other side of Danielle and once again, Arthur sat on the end of the curved booth.

As they each grabbed their drinks, Viola’s face fell slightly, turning her head to face Arthur with a slight scowl, “Uh, why is there ice in this?” She asked, pointing to her gin and tonic that seemed more ice than anything else.

Arthur’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, “I… well… uh,” He glanced over at a smirking Jamie, “She said you wanted extra ice,” He explained, “I had nothing to do with the drinks orders.”

Viola turned her attention to Jamie who shrugged her shoulders and gave her a teasing smile, “I’m sorry that was a really easy mistake to make.”

“You’re an easy mistake to make,” Viola joked with a grumble as she started to pick the ice out of her drink.

“And a lot of people have made that mistake,” Peter chimed before taking a long drink of his beer, his eyes never leaving Jamie’s face as he waited for her response, Jamie opened her mouth to say something before Peter spoke again, “So, Danielle,” He smiled, turning his attention to the blonde beside him, “How’re you finding England?”

“Oh, you can all just call me Dani,” She corrected him before returning the smile, “I mean, it’s really only my family that call me Danielle... and even then I don't like it that much," She explained giving her cousin a pointed look before she turned her head to look at Peter once more "… and, uh, England is great…” She shrugged, “I’m really loving London… or at least what I’ve seen of it…”

“How long have you been here?” Hannah asked.

“I moved here at the end of May... so not too long,” Dani replied, “But I was trying to figure out what I was gonna do in terms of staying here or going back to the states and trying to find work in a different state,” She explained, “But I got in touch with Vi and everything sort of fell into place.”

“Yeah, she told us about how you’re gonna be working with us,” Hannah said, nodding her head slowly, “I would like to say congratulations, but I don’t know if that’s the right word to use when someone starts working with us… if you’re not a little bit crazy already the kids will drive you there,” She joked.

“Do you all work at the school?” Dani asked, her eyes lingering a little longer on Jamie than they did on anyone else, Peter scoffed and shook his head, pulling Dani’s attention away from the dark-haired woman.

“No, Arthur and I work for a law firm, we’re mainly based in Edinburgh, it’s not very often we’re here, thank fuck for that,” He chuckled.

“You don’t like London?”

“Not really no,” He admitted, “I’m hoping one day Becs will move to Edinburgh and then I can stop coming here,” He slung his arm over Rebecca’s shoulder, pulling her closer to him, “I keep telling her that there are kids and schools in Scotland too, but she seems pretty fixed on staying here for now.”

Rebecca rolled her eyes, “And I keep telling him that I’m happy where I am for now,” She replied, “And that if he wants me up there, he can put a ring on my finger,” She said motioning to her left hand.

Dani smiled before turning her head back to face Jamie, “What about you… do you work at the school?” She asked, and Jamie could have sworn that she saw a glint of hopefulness in her eyes.

Jamie shook her head, “No… I own a florist in Camden,” She replied.

“A florist, you?”

Jamie nodded her head slowly, “Yeah… a florist, me,” She smiled.

“Do you talk to customers the same way you spoke to me on the phone?” She asked, a teasing tone to her voice, as a small smile tugged at her lips.

“You’re not gonna let that go, are you?”

Dani shook her head, “No probably not,” She admitted, “So how do you know Viola then?”

Viola rushed to answer the question before Jamie could, “Jamie and I met in university,” She explained, “In our first year we were roommates, and then for some reason I decided to live with her every year after that too… I question my decision to keep her around, every day,” She joked.

“Oh, you’re the roommate?” Dani asked.

“Is that a bad thing?”

Dani shook her head, “No, just Viola never really mentioned a name, just called you her roommate or her best friend…” She admitted, “I’ve actually heard _a lot_ about you,” She smirked.

“I don’t know whether I should be happy about that or be really worried,” Jamie admitted with a small smile, “What’s she been telling you?” She asked, though she was trying to play it off as a joke, she would have been disappointed if Viola had ruined things for her before she had even had a chance to meet Dani.

The blonde woman smiled and shook her head, “Don’t be worried, you came off quite well,” She admitted, “Or at least I thought so,” She shrugged.

“That’s alright then,” Jamie replied, “I’d hate to think your cousin was giving me a reputation,” She smiled.

Viola shook her head, “You do that enough by yourself, you don’t need my help,” She said giving Jamie a slightly warning look, Jamie fell silent and nodded her head slowly, while Dani gave her cousin a confused look.

“So, what brings you to England,” Hannah asked, picking up on the awkward moment between Jamie and Viola and hoping to change the subject.

Dani looked to the older woman and smiled, “I just really needed a change of pace,” She shrugged, “I got pretty bored with small-town life, it wasn’t for me… so I came here to have a break and just fell in love I guess.”

Hannah nodded her head, “It can be a beautiful place,” She agreed, “I couldn’t imagine living anywhere other than the city at this point, I grew up here and I suppose I’ll just stay here for the rest of my life.”

“I can definitely see the appeal of the city,” She nodded her head, “Other than Peter and Viola are you all from London?” Dani asked, again she glanced at Jamie as if all of her questions were aimed at getting to know more about her than anyone else.

Rebecca shook her head, “No, I’m from a town in Sussex, I moved to London for university and never left,” She shrugged, “I liked it a bit too much to leave.”

Arthur shook his head, “I’m from Oxfordshire, moved to Edinburgh for university, got a job out there, never thought I’d be back over this way… but then I got introduced to Vi and that kept me coming back,” He explained.

Dani smiled at the older man, before looking to Jamie, who shook her head, “The accent didn’t type you off that I’m not from around here?” She asked with a smile, Dani gave her a shrug, “I’m from the North of England, a little town in Lancashire… moved to Manchester for uni… met Viola and when she suggested we move to London… I thought fuck it why not,” She admitted with a shrug, “Seemed better than going home… I also kind of liked the idea of having more time winding her up,” She joked pointing at Viola.

“Is that why you decided to live alone after a year of being out here?” Viola asked.

“No…” Jamie shook her head slowly, “It was you being neurotic that sent me packing,” She said with a slightly teasing tone to her voice, Viola being slightly neurotic had helped Jamie with her decision to move out, but the real reason she’d wanted a place of her own was that she wanted her own space.

She liked being alone and doing her own thing. She always had. 

“Am I gonna regret living with her too?” Dani asked.

Jamie nodded her slowly, “Very possibly.”

Viola shook her head slowly, “I’m not that bad… Arthur, tell them,” She all but demanded.

“No, no,” Jamie shook her head, “You’re really laid back,” She said sardonically, knowing her minor outburst had proven her right more than anything else had.

Arthur chuckled and shook his head slowly, “She really isn’t that bad,” He said, leaning around Viola to see Dani, “I mean, I’m hardly ever there but when I am I have a lot of freedom… she lets me eat biscuits over the sink,” He joked, earning himself an eye roll and a sigh from his girlfriend.

“Over the sink?” Dani asked with false enthusiasm, “That’s a really long leash you’re on there, Arthur, you lucky thing,” She teased and Jamie chuckled, Dani looked to her at the sound, meeting her gaze with a playful smile and she was sure her heart skipped a beat from the look in Dani’s too blue eyes. At that moment Jamie knew she had her work cut out for her. 

* * *

After hours of talking and drinking, the bell to single last orders rang, and a collective groan sounded around the bar, “So, who’s round it is not then?” Peter asked his words slightly slurred as he shifted forward in his seat a little, looking around the small group before his eyes landed on Dani, “What about you,” He gave her a light nudge, “Fancy showing us some of that Midwest hospitality?”

Dani shook her head, “No, I’m the newbie,” She replied with a small shrug, “I don’t think it’s fair to make me go up there and buy drinks for you all,” She said a teasing tone working its way into her voice.

Jamie was impressed that every time it came to buying drinks, Dani had somehow avoided having to go to the bar to buy a round for everyone, she couldn't really find it in herself to be annoyed, but still, she also couldn't resist making a small joke of the matter, “That’s a shite excuse that is,” She teased, shaking her head slowly, “I think for that one you should have no choice but to go and buy a drink for everyone.”

“Well, personally, I think _you_ owe me a drink… considering you called me a bitch earlier,” Dani shot back with a smirk, “I hadn’t even met you yet and you were already verbally abusing me,” She shook her head slowly, “I’m not sure we’re gonna be able to make this work,” She motioned between the two of them.

“Oh, we’ll be able to make it work, trust me,” Jamie replied, her tone sounding slightly more suggestive than she had originally intended, but rather than backing out, she decided to lean into it, “And I have no problem buying you a drink any time you want one,” She couldn’t help but smile at the slight blush that crept into Dani cheeks or the small, slightly timid smile she gave her, before she looked away, trying to focus on anything else.

She wondered if she had pushed it too far or if she had made the other woman feel uncomfortable with her comment, she felt her stomach knot slightly at the thought of making her feel uncomfortable, especial considering she had no idea if Dani was into women or not, and she had spent most of the night making slightly flirtatious comments or having playful banter she just hoped she hadn't made a complete idiot of herself and ruined the chance of even being Dani's friend. 

She watched her carefully for a moment her heart rate picking up when Dani looked at her again, giving her a tight-lipped smile before seemingly shaking her head, as if she was shaking something out of it. 

Viola looked between the two of them before shaking her head and testing her jaw slightly, “I’ll go,” She sighed, giving Arthur a harsh nudge silently asking him to slide out of the booth, “Anything to get me away from this,” She mumbled to him, motioning to Jamie and Dani, before taking a deep breath and turning back to the table, “What is everyone having?”

“I’ll just have another pint thanks, love,” Arthur said, trying his best to not laugh or smile at the situation.

“And I’ll just have another coke thanks,” Rebecca replied, she’d been drinking coke for the last hour and a half trying to have some semblance of sobriety as Peter had started to turn sloppy with the amount he’d had to drink.

Viola gave a short nod, her eyes flashing with irritation as Peter slurred his order to her, then she looked to Hannah, who asked for another white wine spritzer, and then finally looking at Dani, “What do you want… just a beer again?”

Dani looked up at the sound of her cousin’s voice and nodded, giving her a small smile, “And you?” Viola asked her tone sounding slightly more tense as she turned her attention to Jamie, it was hard to say what comment had pushed her over the edge, but whatever it was, Jamie knew she had taken it a little too far for Viola's liking. 

“I’ll just have a whiskey thanks… end the night strong and all that,” She smiled.

Viola nodded her head once before dragging Arthur with her to help carry the drinks, “Wow, he really is on a long leash, isn’t he?” Dani asked, with a small chuckle.

Jamie nodded her head slowly, “Yeah, we all are,” She joked, “You’ll have yours fitted soon enough, trust me.”

Dani gave another light chuckle and nodded her head slowly, “That’s really good to know,” She joked, “Uh, while she’s doing that, I’m just gonna run to the restroom… where is it?” She asked.

“Oh, see those red doubles doors in that far corner of the room?” Jamie asked and Dani nodded her head slowly, “Go through those, and then it’s the second door to the left,” She informed her with a small smile.

“Got it, thanks,” Dani replied as she pushed herself up from the booth and headed in the direction Jamie had just told her to go, Jamie gave her a smile in return as she passed by her, turning her head to look over her shoulder and get a view of Dani’s ass as she walked away.

“Jamie?” The sound of her voice caught her attention, and she gave a hum of acknowledgment, asking whoever had spoken to her to continue, “Jamie?” The voice said again, a little more demanding than before.

She pulled her attention away from Dani and looked at her three remaining friends, “What? What is it?” She asked, watching them all expectantly, Peter shook his head slowly, a small smirk spreading across his face.

“You really need to stop,” Rebecca chuckled.

“I haven’t even done anything,” Jamie replied trying her hardest to defend herself.

Peter scoffed and shook his head again, “You have been proper eye-fucking that lass most of the night, don’t think we haven’t noticed it.”

Her eyes widened slightly, she couldn’t deny that she probably had been doing just that, she just hadn’t expected anyone to catch her, “Do you think Dani noticed?” She asked.

Hannah shrugged, “If she did, she doesn’t seem to mind,” She replied, “But I don’t think it’s her you have to worry about… I mean, Viola already seems pretty pissed with you… if I were you, I’d tone it down a bit... I know you made that promise earlier and broke it... but you could at least give it an actual try this time." 

Jamie nodded her head slowly, “Yeah... yeah, I can do that..." She replied, "I mean... we don't even know if she's into women, right?" She asked, talking to herself more than she was the group, reminding herself that she knew nothing about Dani, and that, no matter how attracted to her she was, it didn't really matter if Dani didn't feel the same way, "Like, I could totally be barking up the wrong tree... I mean... I'm probably wasting my time for more than one reason..." She said, her rambling trailing off slightly as she was already losing track of the thought. 

“But?” Hannah and Rebecca said simultaneously, knowing Jamie all too well. 

“But that woman is so pretty I want to cry,” She groaned, “Like, seriously, have you all seen her?” She asked, looking over her shoulder once more.

Rebecca nodded her head and chuckled, “Yeah, we’ve seen her,” She replied, “But you do remember who she is, right?” She asked, nodding in the direction of the bar, “Your life would not be worth living if you did anything with Dani and it backfired and that goes for if she liked you back and you hurt her... or if you made a move on her and she turned you down and then things became awkward… Viola would freak out and we all know that.”

Jamie looked to the bar and then back to her three friends sat with her, and nodded her head slowly, “Yeah, you’re right,” She said with a sigh. She contemplated what Rebecca had said, and just how true she knew it was. But as she looked over her shoulder once more and saw Dani all but speed walking over to them with a bright smile on her face, she couldn’t help but wonder if it would be worth the risk of what Viola might do to her should things go wrong.

* * *

Around an hour and a half later, they had all gone their separate ways, heading home after a night of heavy drinking, as soon as they got back to the flat, Dani rushed into her bedroom to remove her make-up and get ready for bed. She’d had a long couple of days, and couldn’t wait to settle down for the night, she quickly tied her hair into a messy bun before heading back out into the living slash kitchen area to get herself a glass of water.

“So…” Viola said, drawing out the word as Dani padded her way into the living room in a sleep shirt, “Did you have fun tonight?” She asked, her words coming out slightly slurred.

Dani nodded her head and gave the older woman a smile as she walked past her and headed for the kitchen, “I really did, I had a lot of fun… thank you for inviting me.”

“No need to thank me,” Viola shook her head, “You’re pretty much just gonna be a part of the group now though, especially with working with me, Hannah, and Rebecca,” She smiled, “We all just kind of stick together,” She admitted.

“That sounds great,” Dani replied, “I just hope they like me if that’s the case, I don’t think I’d quite like being the secretly hated one in the group,” She teased. 

Dani had liked all of Viola's friends, they had all been welcoming and interesting people, though one of them had definitely piqued her interest more than the others had. The second she had seen Jamie she had been instantly attracted to her. All night she'd hardly been able to look away from the other woman, feeling totally and utterly captivated by just about everything about her; her voice, her accent, her soft features, and defined line to her jaw, and her green eyes that Dani was sure were the prettiest eyes she had ever seen. 

Never in her life had she ever seen anyone quite like Jamie. 

Viola scoffed and rolled her eyes, “While ever Peter is around that will never happen, trust me,” She assured her before sighing, “But even if he suddenly disappeared, I don’t see why they’d hate you… they all seem to like you… some more than others.” She added dryly.

“You don’t sound so happy about that,” Dani commented, confusion coursing through her body as she thought about what her cousin's shift in demeanor could possibly mean, “Has someone said something about me already?” She asked, worry seeping into her tone, she wasn't quite sure what she would do if she found out one of Viola's friends didn't like her, especially her new work colleagues Rebecca and Hannah... and Jamie of course, though that was for entirely different reasons. 

Viola shook her head, “No, just ignore me,” She replied, "I'm probably just overthinking some things." 

“Okay… I will…” Dani nodded her head slowly, deciding it was probably best to do as Viola said, she knew how her cousin could get if people irritated her too much, she’d ask again at another time, another night when it wasn’t late, and they hadn’t been drinking.

She pulled a glass down from the cupboard and filled it with water, drinking almost half of it in one go, before filling it up again, the sound of the running water being the only thing filling the silence that had fallen between the two women.

Dani turned the tap off and turned on her heel and heading back towards her room, “I guess, I’ll see you tomorrow then, goodnight,” She sighed.

“Dani wait,” Viola called out, the younger woman stopped just shy of the door to her bedroom and turned around to face her cousin, giving her a questioning look, “You’ve uh…” She took a deep breath before trying again, you’ve been here a couple of days now and I know I’ve already asked a little about this and I know everyone else did last night but… _why_ are you here?” She asked, “Like, why London… and why now?”

Dani shrugged, “I’ve told you… I needed a change of pace.”

“From what?” The older woman asked, watching Dani carefully, “I mean, the last I heard you were so happy and so in love and engaged to Edmund and then the next thing I hear you’re wandering around London… and you’re alone… and I can’t help but noticed you don’t have a ring on that finger anymore… so I guess, my main question is… what happened?”

Dani walked towards Viola and lowered herself onto the couch slowly, being careful not to spill any water, she sighed before replying, “Eddie and I broke up… we, uh, we both wanted different things,” She divulged, “I realised I didn’t feel the way I should about him and I couldn’t be with him any longer… it wouldn’t have been fair to either of us… so I wrote a note, I left the ring with him… and I left Iowa… I didn’t want to stick around… I didn’t have a reason to.”

“You just left a note, and then left town?” Viola asked, Dani, nodded her head slowly, “Why’d you do it that way?”

“I couldn’t do it face to face… I knew if I tried to leave him in person… he’d convince me to stay, he’d convinced me to stay two times already…” She divulged, “Leaving a note and leaving town was the right way to go…”

“How come you’d tried leaving twice before?” She asked, tilting her head to the side slightly, her eyes a touch softer than they had been all night, “I thought you and Eddie were 'loves young dream?'”

Dani shook her head slowly, “I think everyone thought that,” She admitted taking a deep breath, “But there was always something that didn’t feel right for me… and I guess, it got to a point where I just couldn’t deny it any longer…”

“Couldn’t deny what?”

“Viola… I’m a lesbian…” Dani admitted, her heart pounding in her chest and her stomach knotting at the sound of the word, it was the first time she’d admitted it to anyone other than herself, and it was definitely the first time she’d ever said the word out loud in terms of her own sexuality.

She could feel the tears burning the corners of her eyes as she waited for Viola’s response, fear bubbling up inside of her, she wasn’t sure what she would do if her cousin reacted negatively.

“You’re a lesbian?” Viola asked, nodding her head slowly, her voice even, Dani nodded her head slowly, unsure of the direction this was going to go, Viola had always been an incredibly hard person to read, “Okay… how long have you known?” She asked.

Dani shrugged, “I think, deep down I always knew… but I just couldn’t admit it to anyone… in fact… I still haven’t…” She divulged, “You’re the first person I’ve told…”

“You didn’t even tell Eddie when you left him?”

Dani shook her head slowly, “No… I didn’t know how to,” She admitted, “I’m still trying to get used to the word myself,” She sighed, “I was really worried about what people back home would think… I’m worried about what everyone will think.”

Viola shook her head, “I know this is easier said than done, but please don’t worry here, none of us care about that stuff, like, at all…” She assured her, “And if anyone does say anything to you about it… tell me, and… I’ll kick their arse…” She gave her a soft smile.

“Thank you,” Dani said, giving her a soft, genuine smile, “Really, thank you… for everything…” She shrugged, “For giving me a place to live, for trying to get me included with your friends… and thank you for supporting me right now… I really appreciate all of it.”

Viola smiled and pulled her in for a quick hug, “You’re welcome,” She replied, pulling away from the blonde, “I’m more than happy to do all of that stuff for you,” She said, “And Dani I’m always gonna support you… no matter what, okay?”

Dani nodded her head, before wiping away the tears that had started to spill from her eyes, feeling entirely too thankful to have a cousin like Viola, “Thank you,” She sniffled, “Just, so much.”

“That’s okay…” Viola said taking a deep breath of her own, tears pooling in the corner of her eyes, she quickly pushed herself up from the couch, “I am gonna go to bed, it’s been a long couple of days and it’s very late… you should try and get some rest too,” She instructed, giving her a soft smile, “I’ll see you in the morning,” She said as she made her way to her bedroom giving Dani a small wave.

Dani waved back before letting out a breath that she hadn’t even realised she was holding in. She slowly pushed herself up from the couch, being careful once again that she didn’t stumble and spill any of her water in her tipsy state.

She climbed into bed and shut off her bedside lamp, closing her eyes and hoping that she would soon succumb to sleep, feeling lighter than she had ever felt in her life after letting go of the one thing that had seemed to hold her down for so long and feeling excited about being able to start the next chapter of her life, being a hundred percent authentic to herself. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know if anyone will be interested or not, but I have decided to start a Tumblr that is linked to this account because there is no messaging feature on Archive which I think sucks!! Feel free to come and check it out, or even just to say hi, or ask any questions you might have about this fic or my other fic Stop Me From Falling, or just for a chat about our favourite 80s lesbian couple. My tumbrl is colour-outside-the-liness . tumblr. com (it's a secondary account so unfortunately, I won't be able to follow anyone back on that account)


	3. Bright Lights Big City

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has read this fic so far and to all of you that have interacted with this fic in some way; your comments, kudos, bookmarks, and/or subscriptions mean a lot to me!! I am glad you're all enjoying this fic so far, I hope you enjoy this chapter 
> 
> The title for this chapter came from the song: Bright Lights Big City by Jimmy Reed  
> The lyrics at the start of this chapter are from the song: Closing Time by Semisonic

**Bright Lights Big City**

**So, gather up your jacket, move it to the exits** **, I hope you have found a friend. Closing time, every new beginning, comes from some other beginning's end— _Closing Time, Semisonic_**

* * *

Dani woke to the sound of car horns honking violently, and the harsh, yelling voices of angry pedestrians on the busy street outside her new home. She had known that living in the city was going to take some getting used to; life in her hometown had been a far cry from the few nights she had spent in her new flat so far.

City life had never really been Dani’s thing; they were too crowded, too loud, and far too stressful for her liking, and she had never seen the appeal of them, at least, not until it had been her only way out of the rut that she had been stuck in for the past 24 years of her life.

As she had told Viola last night, she needed a change of pace, she needed to be away from the life she had been stuck in. Leaving America and heading to an entirely new country had given her the opportunity to do that. It had also given her the space that she had needed from that life, the time she had needed to clear her head and really think about _who_ she was and what she _wanted_ from her life.

Of course, her being MIA had caused a lot of questions, countless phone calls from her mother, her friends, Eddie’s mother, and of course, Eddie himself, she had talked with most of them, and had given them minor bits of information, the only people she hadn’t spoken to had been Eddie and Judy O’Mara. 

She wasn’t sure she would be able to do that, not yet anyway.

Dani knew that her mother would have given them all the information that she had given her, which was why she had been so careful about just how much she had told her mother.

She wasn’t ready for _everyone_ to know just why she had left Iowa, and she knew her mother would surely tell everyone, even if she asked her not to, Karen had never been the best at keeping things quiet. Of course, that had more to do with the fact that when she drank, she had loose lips, and there weren’t many times that Karen hadn’t had at least a little bit of alcohol.

Dani had needed space, being in England had given her plenty of that, both metaphorically and literally. Though she hadn’t been in the country long, she already felt more at home, and more herself than she ever had in Iowa, she supposed, that had something to do with the fact that she had finally been able to be honest with herself.

And as of last night, Viola.

It had felt better than she had imagined it would to say those words allowed, of course, what made it even better had been when she had been met with nothing but support. She wondered if things would have been the same at home or not.

As much as she was happy to have been granted a small amount of freedom in her departure, she knew she was going to miss certain aspects of Iowa, she was going to miss her friends, the school she had worked at, her mother (she guessed), and she was going to miss Eddie and his family.

She might not have been able to marry him and might not have loved him to the same degree he loved her, but he was and always had been her best friend, and she was going to miss seeing him and hearing his voice every day. But she knew in her heart that she couldn’t stay there any longer, she couldn’t have the life she was expected to have when it was anything other than the life she _wanted_.

She had lived for other people for far too long.

Now was the time for her to live her life for herself and go after the things she wanted, she was young still, had her whole life ahead of her, and now it was time to do the things that would make _her_ happy.

She had never really put herself first. Not until now, at least.

Dani sat up slowly and tried her hardest to ignore the light thrumming in her head’ despite the amount she’d had to drink the night before, she felt surprisingly good that morning, she hoped that within a couple of hours, and after a coffee, her headache wouldn’t even exist anymore.

She let out a tired yawn before grabbing her phone and checking the time, before pushing herself out of bed and stretched out her limbs, she padded out into the living room, stopping in her doorway when her eyes landed on, Hannah, Rebecca, Peter, Arthur, and Jamie. Her heart seemed to flutter when her eyes landed on the dark-haired florist, she’d met the night before. The five people sitting on her couch, all dressed and ready to face the day had been the last thing that Dani had expected to see at 9 am on a Saturday.

“Uh, hi,” She greeted them weakly, Jamie was the only person who turned her head to face her, greeting her with the softest of smiles as her green eyes scanned the length of her body, Dani felt her body run hot under Jamie’s scrutiny.

“Mornin’,” Jamie replied, “You alright?”

Dani nodded her head, “I am, thank you, are you?”

Jamie nodded her head, her smile slowly turning into a smirk, “Yeah thanks… a lot better now, though,” She admitted, her green eyes locking with Dani’s blue ones.

“That’s… that’s good,” Dani replied a small smile tugging at her lips, “How come you’re all here this morning?” She asked, tearing her eyes away from Jamie to look around the small group of friends. 

“We’re all going to see another friend of ours, gonna go for some breakfast at his little coffee shop and to have a catch up with him… Viola was just finishing getting ready and then she was gonna come and ask you if you wanted to come with us,” Arthur explained, his eyes never leaving the TV screen as he spoke to her. Dani wondered what had captured their attention so much and leaned forwards just slightly to see the pilot episode of _How I Met Your Mother_ playing on the TV.

She leaned back and looked at the group of friends, "You don't have to come if you don't want to though," Rebecca informed her, "No one is gonna drag you out, but it's something we do most mornings if we've been drinking the night before... it might mainly be a coffee shop but he does do some of the best breakfast sandwiches around," She smiled as she cuddled further into Peter's side, 

“He makes some of the best _everything_ around,” Hannah added, a small smile tugging at her lips.

Peter nodded his head in agreement, “That’s true… you need to try his The Notorious P.I.G sandwich, it’ll soak all of last night’s alcohol up nicely,” He informed her with a small smile.

“Oh… okay…” Dani nodded, “I just want to know for future reference, can I expect to wake up to stuff like this every morning?” She asked, keeping her tone light-hearted, the last thing she wanted was for the five of them to think she was being rude. They hardly knew her, and likewise, she hardly knew them. She definitely didn’t want to burn any bridges and ruin the chance of having a group of friends.

“Most mornings, yeah,” Jamie replied nodding her head.

Peter smirked, “You’ll mainly wake up to Jamie rummage through your fridge or biscuit jar,” He teased, “She just lets herself in as and when she feels like it.”

“Oh, is that so?” Dani asked with a slightly amused smiled.

Jamie shook her head, “I’m not as bad as he’s making me out to be,” She replied, "I don't do it all the time," Her tone was slightly panicked as she tried to defend herself from Peter’s accusations.

“But you do it sometimes?” She asked, her smile never faltering.

“ _Sometimes_ , yes,” She explained, “But usually only when Viola and I are going somewhere, or if we’re all meeting up here before going out somewhere…” She shrugged her words coming out even more panicked as she tried to work her way out of the corner Peter had backed her into, “I still have a key from when I lived here, and I use it every now and again… Viola said I could… and she asked me to keep hold of it for emergencies… you’d be surprised how many times she’s locked herself out of this flat.”

“So, you’re saying if I lock myself out… you’re the one to call?” Dani asked with a small teasing smile. 

“You can call me whenever you want, for whatever reason you want,” Jamie replied with a flirty smile that made Dani’s heart flutter.

She liked the idea of Jamie being around more than the others, she also liked the idea of being able to call Jamie for _whatever reason_ she wanted. What she didn’t like, was the thought of Jamie stopping by early and seeing her first thing in the morning when she hadn’t had a chance to make herself look presentable.

Much like now.

There Jamie sat, in a faded Bowie shirt, with the lightest amount of make-up high lighting her pretty features, looking effortlessly stunning and making Dani’s heart stutter from a simple flirty comment and a smirk. She could hardly imagine ever having the same effect on Jamie, but that didn’t mean that she didn’t at least want to have the chance to.

“So, do you want to come with us then?”

The slightly raspy voice pulled her from her train of thought, she shook her head slowly zoning back into the present to see Jamie watching her expectantly, “I’m so sorry, did you say something?” She asked.

Jamie gave a small, bemused smile and nodded her head slowly, “Yeah… I asked if you wanted to come and get breakfast with us?” Jamie asked Dani realised that she was the only one out of the five friends that had never turned her attention back to the TV during the exchange.

“Uh, yeah, I’d like that… thanks,” Dani nodded at the dark-haired woman, “I’ll just get ready… I’ll try not to be too long,” She smiled.

“Take as long as you need.”

“Is Viola using the bathroom?”

Arthur shook his head, “No, she’s in the bedroom,” He replied, through a yawn.

“Okay good…” She headed towards the bathroom before stopping in her tracks and turning on her heel, “I’m not gonna walk into the bathroom and find more of Vi’s friends, right?” Dani asked, a slightly joking tone edging into her voice.

Peter shook his head and looked over his shoulder at the blonde, “No. Viola’s only got six friends,” He teased.

“Good to know,” Dani replied with a small smile before disappearing into the bathroom, locking the door behind her with a quiet click. 

* * *

Dani wasn’t in the bathroom long before she exited the door, her hair still tied up in its messing bun, a towel wrapped tightly around her body, as she all but ran through the crowded living room, giving Viola (who had now joined the others), a quick smile as she passed her. Jamie watched her closely as she passed her, finding it hard to tear eyes away from the younger woman, “Don’t mind me, everyone… I’ll be out in a second,” Dani called as she slipped into her bedroom.

Jamie felt a light smack on the back of her head, drawing her attention away from Dani’s closed bedroom door, “Ow, what was that for you knob?” She asked, rubbing the back of her head and turning her attention to Viola.

“You _know_ what that was for,” Viola scowled, Jamie sighed and rolled her eyes slightly; she could understand why Viola had acted the way she had, but that didn't mean she appreciated the reaction, “Jamie I don’t really ever ask much from you… but I am asking you to please just stay—”

“I know… you don’t want me hitting on her and that’s fine… _I_ won’t hit on _her_.”

Viola shook her head, “No… no… no loops holes, no,” She chuckled, “There is no way I am going to let Dani be another one of your random skanks and—”

“I think skank is a bit harsh, don’t you?” Jamie asked, “They were all very respectable women… I just didn’t like any of them enough to have a relationship,” She shrugged.

“Fine then… I am not going to let Dani be another one of your random hook-ups,” She shrugged, “I’m sorry Jamie, but I am not ever going to let Dani be that for you so…”

Peter chuckled, “Sounds like if you wanna shag Dani you’re gonna have to make an honest woman of her first,” He joked, “So I guess that’s over and done with before it even started.”

Viola nodded her head, “Which is exactly why I said it.”

After roughly an hour, Dani emerged from her bedroom, finally ready to go for breakfast, she was greeted by a chorus of mock cheers from her cousin and her friends; after all, everyone had been waiting for her, and that had been hungry long before Dani had even left the shower. “Can you all greet me like that every time I walk into a room?” Dani asked with a small playful smile, “Because I kind of like it.”

Viola rolled her eyes and shut off the TV as everyone else stood up from where they had been sitting on the couch, “No,” The older woman replied, her tone slightly irritated already, she stood up from where she had been sitting and grabbed the few empty cups that were now sitting on the coffee table and carried them to the kitchen and putting them in the sink to be washed later, “Are we all ready?” She asked, looking around the room.

Each of them nodded their heads as they headed towards the door, Viola grabbed her jacket before pulling the door open and disappearing through it, closely followed by Arthur, Peter, Rebecca, and Hannah.

Dani furrowed her eyebrows as she and Jamie ambled their way to the door, “I have to ask, have I done something that I don’t know about?” She asked, “Because she seems pretty pissed.”

Jamie shook her head and chuckled, “No you haven’t done anything, don’t worry about it,” She replied, “Think she’s just having one of those days,” She lied, not wanting to tell Dani the real reason Viola was so irritated that morning.

“Does she have a lot of those?” Dani asked with a small smile, as she pulled on her jacket, and left the apartment with Jamie just behind her. 

Jamie quirked her eyebrow at her, a small, bemused smile spreading across her face, “She’s your cousin, surely you know more about her mood swings than any of us, right?” she asked, as Dani closed and locked the door behind them.

She shrugged her shoulders slightly, “I mean, yeah she’s my cousin and we talk a lot but growing up we didn’t see each other _that_ often, maybe three times a year, if we were lucky, and that was usually at Christmas Break, Spring Break, and sometimes Summer Break, so when I saw her, she was always in a pretty good mood,” She smiled, as they began to walk down the hall towards the stairwell and lift.

“Then you were extremely lucky,” Jamie smiled.

“So, what is she really like to live with?” Dani asked, “I know there were some jokes last night but… is she really that bad?”

Jamie chuckled and shook her head, “No, she’s not that bad at all, actually…” She admitted, “I mean, we never had any issues when we were living together… and we lived together for years.”

“So, what made you move out?” Dani asked, coming to stand next to the lift and pushing the call button. 

“I like my own space and doing my own thing… and while I could sort of have space living with someone else, it wasn’t enough, y’know?” She asked, “I liked living with her, but I gotta say living alone is better.”

“I’ve never lived alone,” Dani admitted, “Well I mean, other than when I first got here and I was just staying in motels and hostels… but I don’t think you can count that, right?” She asked.

Jamie shook her head and smiled, “No, probably not,” She replied, she quirked her eyebrow slightly as Dani stepped into the lift, “So you’re really not gonna take the stairs?”

Dani shook her head, “No, we’re on the fifth floor,” She chuckled, “I’m not about that,” She admitted as she reached for the ground floor button, “Are you not taking the elevator?” Dani asked, “Suit yourself,” She shrugged hitting the button.

Jamie rolled her eyes and made a dash to get into the lift, only just stepping inside it as the doors closed behind them, “So are you looking forward to starting work on Monday?” She asked.

Dani nodded her head slowly and smiled, “Yeah… I mean, I’m nervous because the school system is slightly different, but I’ll be teaching the same age group I did back home… so I know how to deal with kids that age… but, uh, I guess I’m worried they won’t like me.”

Jamie shook her head, “Don’t be daft…” She gave her a soft smile, “I am sure the kids are gonna love you… I mean… if they like Viola… they’re definitely gonna like you, right?” She joked.

Dani nodded her head, “I guess… but… that’s assuming the kids like her,” She pointed out with a small smirk.

“Well, that’s a very good point…” Jamie replied nodding her head slowly, “I don’t know how she is with kids… but if she got the promotion to be deputy headmistress when it came up, she can’t be too bad. Especially since Hannah has worked there longer and had seniority… and if the headteacher trusts her judgment, she must be alright.”

Dani smiled and shrugged, “I guess that’s true,” She said, though there was something about her tone that let Jamie know she was still unsure of herself.

“Look, I know you’ve just met me, so my judgment might not mean much… but it’s not often I’m wrong… and I really do think you’re gonna do just fine,” Jamie said, “If I am wrong though… and your first day ends up being really shit… I will personally find a way to make it better… if you wanted…”

Dani nodded her head slowly and gave her a soft smile, “I think I’d be okay with that,” She replied, “And uh, thank you for the pep talk, I appreciate it… I’m still terrified… but thank you.”

“Don’t mention it… you’re buying me breakfast to pay me for my words of wisdom…” Jamie smiled, “That and you managed to work your way out of buying a single round last night… it only seems fair…”

“Well, I usually like to know a person a little better before I buy them breakfast,” Dani teased, a small smile tugging at her lips.

“Oh, you can get to know me as well as you want,” Jamie replied, her tone suggestive, she couldn’t help but smile as Dani’s eyes widened slightly. The younger woman shook her head and opened her mouth to say something, before quickly closing it again when no words came out.

She cleared her throat and let out a breathy chuckle, “That’s… uh… good to know…” She stammered, giving Jamie a small smile just as the lift dinged and the doors slowly opened, to reveal the rest of the small group all waiting for them.

“Urgh, finally!” Peter said with an exasperated groan as Dani and Jamie stepped out of the elevator, “Was starting to think Jamie had convinced you to stay in the apartment with her…” He smirked.

Jamie shook her head slowly, “Nah, someone just felt like taking the lift rather than the stairs… that and you lot fair ran out of the apartment,” She chuckled, “Kind of felt like someone was trying to get away from us,” She looked to Viola who rolled her eyes and sighed.

“Well now we’re all together, can we leave?” She asked already heading towards the door, Peter gave a small smirk before pulling a cigarette from a packet and placing it between his lips.

He held the packet out to Jamie, who took one with a small smile, “You’ve really pissed her off this morning, y’know that, right?” He asked, holding the packet out to Dani who shook her head and gave a soft smile.

Jamie rolled her eyes and sighed, “I haven’t even done anything,” She took the lighter from Peter and lit her cigarette quickly, taking a small drag as she handed the lighter back to him, “Seriously, I think she’s overreacting a little bit,” She said as they stepped out of the block of flats and into the light rainfall, being the last one's to leave the building.

Peter shrugged, “Maybe so… but that doesn’t make what I said any less true,” He pointed out before he took a drag of his cigarette, “You might wanna do some damage control at some point,” He smiled before he picked up his pace to catch up with Rebecca leaving Dani and Jamie trailing behind once more.

* * *

The walk to Better Latte Than Never was filled with mindless chatter between Dani and Jamie as they talked about anything and everything that came to mind. All the while Viola would look over her shoulder, watching them closely, though, her attention mainly fell onto Jamie each time she looked at them.

She’d found it easy to disregard the death glares thrown at her from her supposed best friend, as Dani talked animatedly, telling Jamie stories of the people she’d met or the places she had been since arriving in England. It seemed to her, that Dani had done more in those short months than Jamie had in all her years living in the city. She wondered if maybe she had been doing everything all wrong, and that maybe she hadn’t seen living in London for the opportunity it really was.

“I guess that’s the novelty of it all though, right?” Dani asked, her questioning pulling Jamie from her train of thought, she stared at Dani dumbly for a moment, shaking her head slowly as blue eyes looked at her expectantly.

“I dunno… maybe…” She shrugged, “I mean, things have definitely changed for me since I first got here,” She admitted, “I know a lot of things I loved, to begin with, make me wanna tear my hair out now,” She chuckled as she pushed open the door, holding it to allow Dani in first.

“Really, what are they?” She asked, giving her a small smile.

“Jesus, if I were to stand here and give you a list of the things I have started to dislike about this city, we could be here all day,” Jamie replied with a smile of her own, “And to be honest, I think there are a lot more interesting things to talk about than my grievances with London.”

“Oh yeah, like what?” Dani asked.

“Like, why Owen canceled on us last night,” Jamie chimed as they came up to the front desk, to see the older man already setting to work on the orders of everyone else in their group.

“I am incredibly sorry about last night, but something came up,” He replied, “From what little I've heard it sounds like it was a good night though,” He smiled, before turning his attention to the blonde woman beside Jamie, “And you must be Danielle, it’s lovely to finally meet you and put a face to all the stories I’ve been told.”

“Oh, you can just call me Dani,” She smiled, holding her hand out to the older man, “It’s great to meet you too, Owen, right?” She asked.

Owen nodded his head and took her hand, shaking it once, “That’s right, I’m sort of the unofficial seventh… or more like eighth now… member of the group,” He informed her with a small smile.

“You wouldn’t be so unofficial if you actually came out with us when we ask,” Jamie teased, “You cancel on all of us far too much, Owen… we’re all starting to think you secretly hate us all.”

He gave her a small smile, “You know that’s a lie, I just had a personal issue to sort out last night, but I promise next time, I will definitely join you all, now go sit down with the others and I’ll bring all your stuff over to you… Dani, what can I get for you?”

“A coffee with milk and two sugars would be great, thank you,” She replied with a small smile before Jamie and Dani walked over to their small group of friends and sat at the end of the two tables they had all pushed together to make enough room for the seven of them. 

* * *

They ate breakfast and drank coffee, with Owen breaking away from working occasionally to have a chat with all of them, eager to hear all about the previous night and to learn a little more about Dani. While Viola seemed to do all she could to deflect her cousin’s attention away from Jamie any chance she got. She would cut in during conversations that seemed to rise between the two of them or answering Jamie’s questions for Dani, which always made a small, bemused smile spread across Dani’s face.

In all the years she had known Viola, Jamie had never been more irritated with her than she was that morning. On some level, she could understand Viola's apprehension to let her get too close to Dani; she didn’t have the best track record with women, preferring short flings and one-night stands to meaningful relationships, Viola knew that… in fact, all her friends knew that.

But Dani was a twenty-something-year-old woman, who appeared to be free and single and should be able to make her own choices. It seemed, however, that Viola didn’t share the same sentiments as her. Always pulling Dani’s attention away from Jamie by making idle small talk with the blonde. Every time these diversions would occur, Jamie would roll her eyes, and fight against the exasperated sigh that threatened to slip past her lips. Trying her hardest to act unbothered by Viola’s tactics.

No matter how much those tactics were starting to annoy her. 

"Jamie, what about you... are you ready? The American accent pulling her from her thoughts, she turned her head to the side of her to see Dani looking at her expectantly.

“Am I ready for what?” She asked, her dark eyebrows furrowing slightly.

Dani gave her a small smile, “We’re all ready to leave… are you?” She asked.

Jamie looked away from Dani to see, Rebecca, Peter, Arthur, and Viola all pulling on their coats, “Oh, uh, yeah… yeah I’m good to go,” She nodded her head, wondering just how long she had been zoned out for, she pushed herself up from her chair quickly and pulled on her own coat, “Where’s Hannah?”

Viola jabbed her thumb over her shoulder, pointing in the direction of the counter, where Hannah was busy talking with Owen, both of them smiling shyly, “Say no more,” Jamie nodded her head slowly as the six of them headed towards the door, “Hannah, we’re all gonna head out, you alright here, yeah?” She called out with a small smirk, the older woman looked over her shoulder and gave Jamie a small smile and nodded her head.

The six of them pushed their way through the door, heading back out onto the busy street, the rain slightly heavier than it had been when they had first arrived, “Are we really leaving Hannah behind?” Dani asked, looking over her shoulder.

Jamie followed her gaze to see Hannah throwing her head back, laughing at something Owen had said to her. Jamie nodded her head before turning her attention back to Dani, “We are…” She sighed, “Maybe them having some alone time will actually spur them on to do something.”

“Do they have a little thing for each other?” Dani asked.

Jamie chuckled, “It’s not little,” She replied, “They’ve been mad for each other since they first met… but neither of them ever seem to do anything about it… hopefully this will be the little push they need… I mean… the coffee shop is pretty much empty and we’re not loitering around… nothing to stop them talking about how they really feel now.”

* * *

“British summers sure are beautiful, huh?” Dani mused, her tone laced with sarcasm as she looked out of the glass doors that led to the balcony of her and Viola’s flat, the weather had only got worse since they arrived back home, and now large raindrops fell from the dark, grey sky, slapping aggressively against the windows, “I don’t think I have ever seen a sky so blue,” She joked.

Jamie nodded her head slowly, “Yeah… we get pretty shitty weather here… so you might wanna get used to it,” She replied, “I’m sure it rains more often than not… pretty sure England is just constantly under a grey cloud.”

Dani hummed and nodded her head before making her way into the kitchen, sitting at the small table with Jamie and Viola, while Arthur, Peter, and Rebecca were in the living room, with the TV playing in the background. “So, what are everyone’s plans for the day?” She asked.

“You’re looking at them,” Jamie replied, “I mean, I don’t know if you’ve noticed this or not, but you’ve found yourself in a group with some _incredibly_ boring people…" She teased a small smile spreading across her face, "I'm really sorry to disappoint you.”

“Speak for yourself,” Viola mumbled, never looking up from the newspaper she was reading, “Don’t lump the rest of us with you,” She sighed heavily, clearly, she wasn’t over her earlier irritation with Jamie, which, as much as she knew she shouldn’t, Jamie couldn’t help but find hilarious.

Jamie nodded her head slowly, “Oh yeah, sorry, I forgot you lot were all lion tamers,” She deadpanned, “I guess I’m the only boring one,” She rolled her eyes.

“I think I can work with boring,” Dani replied giving Jamie a small smile.

It took her by surprise, the way her heart seemed to speed up at such a simple gesture as Dani smiling, and she wasn’t sure if she liked it or not. “Good,” Jamie replied, with a smile of her own.

Viola opened her mouth to say something, only to be cut off by the sound of the front door bursting open, crashing against the wall slightly, “I have a date with Owen tonight!” Hannah chimed as she barrelled into the flat, a hundred wat smile plastered across her face.

“Now don’t quote me on this,” Jamie said, her voice thick with sarcasm, “But I think Hannah might be happy about something,” The older woman gave her an unimpressed look, before rolling her eyes, “Sorry,” She smiled, “I’m happy for ya.”

Hannah grinned before dropping down into the chair next to Jamie, “Thank you. I am just so happy right now,” She admitted, “I was starting to think it was never gonna happen.”

“So, who asked who?” Viola asked, closing the paper and sliding it across the table, giving Hannah her undivided attention.

Just as Hannah was about to launch into her story, Arthur chimed in, “And I think this might be my queue to leave,” he sighed, pushing himself up from his spot on the couch, “While you lot are talking about this, I’m gonna head to the gym,” He said before walking into his and Viola’s bedroom.

Peter pushed himself up from where he had been cuddled next to Rebecca, “And I think I am gonna go home and do some last-minute packing before I leave for Edinburgh again tomorrow night… try not to be too long, Becs,” He gave her a quick kiss, “I’ll see you tomorrow Artie,” He called, as he left the house, waving at Hannah, Jamie, Dani, and Viola.

Arthur walked out of his bedroom moments later with his gym bag slung over his shoulder, “Has he already gone?” He asked looking around the women that remained in the flat.

Rebecca nodded her head, “Yeah, he left as he was saying bye to you,” She admitted pushing herself up from the sofa to join the others in the kitchen.

Arthur sighed and nodded his head once, “Right then,” He replied, “I’ll leave you, ladies, to it,” He smiled, as he passed by Viola, he ducked his head to give her a quick kiss before sweeping out of the flat.

“So, who asked who?” Viola asked again, giving Hannah a small smile.

* * *

They’d spent the rest of the afternoon talking about Hannah’s upcoming date with Owen, and how he had so shyly approached the topic of them and how he’d wondered, if she might, maybe, possibly be interested in going on a date with him, and how she had definitely accepted his over almost instantly.

After that they had started reminiscing about dates, they’d been on in the past, with Dani remaining relatively silent during the whole conversation, which had left Jamie wondering if Dani had been lucky and had avoided any really terrible dates, or if she was simply just really reserved about this type of thing.

It seemed to Jamie that out of everyone she herself had the most dating horror stories, she knew that had more to do with her approach to dating and the sheer number of women she had dated more than anything else.

It had been hours of them talking and laughing, conversation moving from terrible dates to awkward moments on dates, or embarrassing moments on dates, with Dani chipping in some of her own awkward stories and embarrassing moments. By that time Arthur had been home from the gym a while, joining in with his own dating mishaps and before long, Hannah and Rebecca had left the flat in the late afternoon. Hannah had left to get ready for her date, and Rebecca had left after Peter had called her twice to ask when she would be home.

Since then, Jamie, Dani, Viola, and Dani had been lounging around eating take-out food, drinking wine, and just making idle conversation, Jamie hadn’t even realised what time it was until Arthur and Viola had decided to excuse themselves to their bedroom, at which point Jamie had checked the time and widened her eyes slightly.

“Jesus, I didn’t realise it was that time,” She admitted with a chuckle, “I guess time really does fly when you’re having fun,” She mused. “I think I should probably get going,” She said, before locking her phone and slipping it into her pocket she looked up at Dani and seeing a look of disappointment flash over her face, before the blonde quickly composed herself.

Dani nodded her head slowly, “Yeah… probably…”

“I’ll be seeing you again in a few hours anyway… we’re all pretty co-dependant... so don't think you're gonna get rid of me that easy,” she joked, Dani gave a small slightly breathy laugh at that, “But uh before I go…” Jamie leaned forwards and opened one of the drawers in the coffee table, grabbing the notepad and pen that she knew Viola always kept in there. She quickly scribbled down a series of numbers before ripping the section off of the page in the notebook and handing it to Dani. “That’s for you,” Jamie smiled, and Dani looked down at the number before looking back up at Jamie and giving her a small smile, “Just in case you get locked out…” Jamie said going back to the comment Dani had made earlier that day, “Or for _anything_ else you might wanna use it for…” She added with a smirk as she pushed herself up from the couch as Dani gave her a small smile, a slight blush rising in her cheeks at the suggestive tone that Jamie had used.

“I’ll, uh, keep that in mind,” Dani replied, her voice sounding slightly breathless.

Dani walked Jamie to the door, which, she hadn’t been expecting, usually, Viola would just tell her to let herself out and lock the door behind her; as often as Jamie had her own keys with her, she had the spare key to Viola… and now Dani’s flat too. The last thing she had been expecting was for Dani to both walk her to the door, and to open it for her, giving her a slightly shy smile as she did so, Jamie stepped out of the flat, before turning on her heel and leaning on the door frame.

“I meant what I said y’know?” She asked.

“About what?” Dani tilted her head to the side.

“About you being able to use that number for _anything_ you want,” She gave Dani a slightly crooked, half-smile, one she had been told in the past was all too effective on women and from the look on Dani’s face, if she had to wager a guess, she’d have guessed that statement was all too true. 

“And I meant what I said,” Dani replied, a small smile tugging at her lips, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Jamie nodded her head slightly, “I really hope you do,” She smiled, “I’ll see you later Dani,” She said, before pushing herself away from the door frame and heading down the stairs and out of the building, hoping against everything that Dani would put her number to good use. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know if anyone will be interested or not, but I have decided to start a Tumblr that is linked to this account because there is no messaging feature on Archive which I think sucks!! Feel free to come and check it out, or even just to say hi, or ask any questions you might have about this fic or my other fic Stop Me From Falling, or just for a chat about our favourite 80s lesbian couple. My tumbrl is colour-outside-the-liness . tumblr. com (it's a secondary account so unfortunately, I won't be able to follow anyone back on that account)


	4. Good Friend and a Glass of Wine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always thank you so much to everyone who has read this fic so far and has interacted with it in some way!! Your comments, subscriptions, bookmarks, and /or kudos mean so much to me!! I hope you all enjoy this chapter!! ☺️
> 
> The title for this chapter came from the song: Good Friend and a Glass of Wine by LeAnn Rimes  
> The Song lyrics at the start of this chapter came from the song: Gotta Be You by One Direction

**Good Friend and a Glass of Wine**

**I've tried playing it cool, but when I'm looking at you, I can't ever be brave, ‘cause you make my heart race— _Gotta Be You, one Direction_**

* * *

Jamie had barely walked through her door and kicked off her shoes when her phone buzzed in her back pocket, she quickly pulled it out, a small smile forming on her face almost instantly when she saw the text from an unknown number on her screen.

**From unknown: It only seems fair for me to give you my number too…**

Within seconds, she saw three dots appear at the bottom of her screen, and then, yet another message shot up to sit just under the first one.

**From Unknown: You can use it for anything you want…**

Jamie quickly saved Dani’s number in her phone, before tapping out a reply, giving Dani the very same response that the blonde woman had given her when she had left her flat no more than fifteen minutes earlier.

**To Dani: I’ll keep that in mind**

She locked her phone, and quickly made her way into her bedroom, plugging it in to charge, before going about her usual nightly routine, changing into her pyjamas, removing all her make-up, having a quick cup of tea, and finally brushing her teeth before padding her way back into her bedroom. She climbed into bed, checking her phone one last time before going to sleep, seeing another text from Dani and smiling like an idiot once again at the blonde’s response.

**From Dani: I really hope you do**

She quickly wrote Dani a good night text, feeling hopeful about her chances with the younger woman, even if she knew thinking about Dani that way was a dangerous situation to find herself in, especially if Viola ever found out. 

* * *

It was amazing to Jamie, just how quickly Dani seemed to slot into place within their small group, almost like she should have always been there. Arthur had been right in his description of Dani the night they’d all first met her. She was different from Viola, she was easygoing, whereas her cousin was highly strung. While Viola was tensed jaws and glares, Dani was soft looks and bright smiles. Dani was funny, smart, kind, and Jamie found herself liking Dani’s company more and more as they spent time together even if that week, they hadn’t spent nearly enough time together as Jamie would have liked.

Since they had exchanged numbers, they had texted a little, mainly small flirtatious jokes that she knew Viola wouldn't approve of. They'd seen each other at the bar when they'd had a couple of quiet drinks with their friends during Hump-Day-Happy-Hour, and they'd seen each other yesterday when Jamie had called in at the flat to vent about a particularly rude customer that had bought his wife a bouquet of apology flowers. 

But still, it hadn't been enough time with just Dani. She didn't know if she would ever be granted time alone with the younger woman while ever Viola was around, but it wouldn't stop her hoping and seeking out every chance they got, but for now, she would have to be thankful for the odd text Dani would send her, that would spark off playful conversations between them, conversations that if anyone asked, Jamie would label as _friendly banter_. 

It would be easy enough, she had friendly banter with most people. 

On Friday morning, when Jamie had been pacing around her shop floor, drinking tea and trying to make herself look the slightest bit busy, her phone had buzzed in her pocket notifying her of yet another text from Dani, this time, the message had been asking her if she was still coming to the ‘girls' movie night’ at the flat. A smile had flashed across her face as the younger woman’s name had flashed across her screen. She liked that Dani had messaged her to confirm rather than Viola texting her. 

While Jamie wasn’t usually a fan of the chick-flics Hannah, Rebecca, and Viola picked, she found herself looking forward to this particular girls’ night more than any other, of course, that had everything to do with the fact that she would be spending her night with Dani, and that was something she was very much looking forward to doing.

She closed her shop a little earlier than usual that day, to give herself more time to get ready, if she was going to spend the night with Dani, she was going to make sure she looked her best. Even with leaving work early as she looked at the time on her phone, she saw that once again she was going to be late meeting at Dani and Viola’s flat and she could practically hear Viola’s lecture already.

She wondered if Dani would care about her being late as much as Viola did.

Jamie let herself into the flat and gave Rebecca, Dani, and Viola an apologetic smile as she shut the door behind her, “Sorry I’m late, got a bit caught up at work,” She lied.

“It’s fine, Hannah is running a little late anyway,” Viola sighed as she poured wine into four glasses, “She called in to see Owen after work given that we were having girl’s night and she wouldn’t be able to see him.”

“So, when you were late to the bar last week that was fine… Hannah is late tonight and that’s fine… but when I’m late it’s not okay?” Jamie asked, her eyes narrow slightly, “Y’know something I'm just starting to think this is a personal problem with me,” She said as she grabbed two of the glasses carrying them into the living room and handing one to Dani.

Viola rolled her eyes staying close to Jamie’s heels as she entered the room and handed one of the glasses to Rebecca, “It’s not a personal issue as such, it’s the fact that you are _always_ late… Hannah is never late, and neither am I… I mean, you were late tonight, and I got told that you turned up to the bar late last week too…”

“Becs, why the fuck would you tell her that you little grass?” She asked, a joking tone edging into her voice.

Rebecca shook her head slowly, “I didn’t say anything,” She admitted, “That must have been someone else…”

Viola nodded her head, “Peter told me,” She admitted, “I couldn’t get in touch with Arthur one night this week so I called Peter instead, and you know what Peter's like, so we got talking and he let slip that you showed up half an hour late…”

“Scottish prick,” Jamie grumbled, “I’ll let you know something now Dani… never tell Peter anything you wouldn’t want everyone else to know anyway,” She informed the younger woman, “Because he will stitch you up any chance he gets.”

Dani gave a small chuckle, “I’m guessing Peter is the one with loose lips?”

Jamie nodded, “Yeah, it’s why we all just sort of started telling each other everything, it was safer that way... Peter let too many secrets out, so now we just don't have any."   
  
“So, you guys tell each other everything?” Dani asked.

Viola nodded her head slowly, “It’s better that way… we all know everything about each other… especially us girls… I mean… we talk about _everything_.”

Rebecca nodded her head in agreement, “Us girls have _some_ secrets from the boys, but not many... usually we just tell each other everything, or we don't say anything to anyone... it’s one extreme or the other with all of us… I hope that’s not an issue.”

Dani shook her head slowly, “No. Not an issue at all, it’s just new to me, I guess… I don’t think I have ever had a friendship where we told each other everything… not even with Eddie… and I mean… we dated for years too but I still kept stuff from him.”

Jamie felt her heart sink slightly at the thought of Dani being with a man, she had known it was a possibility that she was straight, but she had started to sense that maybe Dani could be into her, that maybe, Dani wasn’t so straight after all.

Then again, it wouldn’t be the first time she had confused her gaydar with her please-be-gay-dar.

There had been many times women had flirted with her the same way Dani had casually flirted, and they had turned out to be straight and Jamie had always been left feeling slightly disappointed, she figured, Dani was no different, at least until the blonde spoke up again.

“Then again I guess I didn’t really know how to sit my boyfriend down and tell him I thought I liked women…” She mused, “Even when we broke up, I left that part out, y’know?” She asked, “But I guess being honest about everything might make a nice change.”

Jamie felt a rush of happiness wash over her, and she tried her hardest to keep her facial expressions casual at Dani’s revelation.

“You really never said anything about that?” Rebecca asked.

Dani shook her head, “I wasn’t really a hundred percent sure for the longest time… I got together with him because it felt like that’s what I should be doing y’know? I actually wound up engaged to him… but uh, I called that off… I still didn’t tell him why though… I guess I didn’t know how to because I didn’t know how people would react… seriously… you guys are some of the first people I’ve told,” She admitted, her eyebrows furrowed slightly as she waited for their reactions.  
  
Hearing that Dani had been engaged in the past came as a slight shock to her, but hearing how Dani called it off because it wasn't entirely what she wanted gave her hope that, much like herself, Dani was headstrong and that she was done holding herself back from the things that she wanted, or things she might possibly want. 

Jamie gave her a small, somewhat comforting smile, before raising her glass slightly, “Well, welcome to the club, I guess… I am sure we’re all very happy to have someone like you joining us,” She said, her smile growing slightly when Dani gave her a smile of her own.

“Are you the official welcome committee?” Dani asked with a slightly teasing tone to her voice.

Jamie nodded her head slowly, “Well of the London branch, yeah,” She joked, “Which is obviously the best branch to be a part of.”

“You would say that you’re trying to sell me on it, you’re not gonna make it sound bad,” Dani pointed out, “But who knows maybe there’s a better branch somewhere else?”

“I’ll show you just how good London can be sometime how about that?” Jamie asked.

“Really?” 

Jamie shrugged, “Official duties as the welcome committee, gotta show the new members what the city has to offer.”

Viola sighed and shook her head slowly, “I need a cig,” She pushed herself up from the armchair and headed over to the balcony, as she got halfway across the room, she turned on her heel and gave Jamie an expectant look before nodding her head in the direction of the balcony.

Jamie turned her mouth down slightly before standing up herself, “Yeah, think I’ll go have one with you,” She sighed, following Viola out into the late summer air, closing the glass door to the balcony behind her, “You alright?”

Viola tensed her jaw slightly, her eyes piercing into Jamie as she shook her head slowly, “What do you think?” She asked as she pulled a cigarette from her packet before offering Jamie one.

Jamie sighed and pulled a cigarette from the carton before placing it between her lips and lighting it, “Look I really don’t see how I could have already done something wrong,” She admitted handing the lighter to Viola, “I’ve been here five minutes… maybe,” She shrugged.

“Could you be more obvious with Dani? Like seriously Jamie, calm down.”

Jamie nodded her head, “Oh right, yeah, sorry… by showing her some support and trying to make this situation easier for her, I’m practically knuckle deep…” She replied sardonically.

Viola shook her head slowly, “Don’t talk like when it involves my cousin, alright?” She asked, “Like that’s literally the last thing I need.”

“I’m just trying to show Dani some support, considering I am the only one that knows what kind of thing she’s going through,” Jamie shrugged, taking a drag of her cigarette before speaking again, “Just thought she might be able to use a friend that gets it.”

“That was really all it was?” Viola asked, quirking an eyebrow at her.

Jamie nodded her head slowly, while it was no secret that she found Dani attractive, her earlier comments had simply been her trying to make Dani feel a little more comfortable with the situation. Not that she didn’t like the thought of something more happening between her and Dani.

“Yeah, that’s all it was, I promise.”

Viola narrowed her eyes slightly, as she took a long drag of her cigarette, exhaling slowly as she watched Jamie closely, she shifted slightly under Viola’s gaze, feeling all too awkward as she waited for the taller woman to say something. “Alright,” She said, finally, “I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt,” She nodded her head, “But only because you are the only one that knows what she’s going through and it might be good for her to have a _friend_ that does know.”

She’d used far too much emphasis on the word friend.

As if trying to drive home a point to Jamie.

The point that her being Dani’s friend was all Viola was happy with.

But then again, Jamie had never lived her life around what anyone else wanted of her. Her dad hadn’t wanted her to move to London those three years ago, he’d wanted her to stay close in Manchester, yet there she was, living in London with a semi-successful small business in Camden. 

Viola didn’t want her doing anything with Dani, and she could respect that, up to a point.

But if Dani ever made it known she wanted something more than friendship, Jamie wasn’t going to deny herself of that simply because Viola Willoughby wouldn’t approve.

* * *

Hannah arrived not long after Jamie and Viola came back into the flat, with a beaming smile on her face, it didn’t take long for the conversation to shift on to her budding romance with Owen as they listened intently to the stories of the two dates, they’d had with each other so far.

“So, have you?” Jamie asked with a small smirk.

“Have we what?” Hannah asked, Jamie gave her a look that screamed _isn’t that obvious_ , “I am not one to kiss and tell… or do anything else and tell,” She smirked, before taking a sip of her wine.

“Which means that you have definitely already slept with him,” Jamie replied with a knowing smile, she could tell from the look in Hannah’s dark eyes that her relationship with Owen had gone to the next level.

Viola scoffed and shook her head, “Not everyone is like you, Jamie… some of us don’t put out on the first date,” She said, giving her a smug smile. She’d known it was an attempt to put Dani off. 

However, when Dani sighed lightly, Jamie could see, Viola’s comment hadn’t had the desired effect, “What’s wrong with that?” Dani asked, her eyes soft, “I mean, I never have but that’s not to say I wouldn’t,” She admitted.

Jamie couldn’t help but smile at Dani’s small amount of defence for her, her smile only grew when Viola rolled her eyes, “I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with it, what I am saying is that not everyone does it.”

“Well actually, Jamie is right about this,” Hannah replied with a smile, “We have, and it was… really great actually,” She admitted, “And I mean _really great_ …” She gave a small chuckle, “But I really don’t want to talk about that too much…” She replied.

Hannah had always been the more reserved one of Jamie’s friends, choosing to say as little about her private life as possible, especially, when it came to her love life. While she and Viola had always been the more oversharing type, and Rebecca falling somewhere in the middle.

She couldn’t help but wonder where Dani would fall on the sharing scale.

“In that case, we will leave your love life there for the night,” Rebecca smiled before taking a sip of her wine, “Vi, what film will we be watching this evening?” She asked, swiftly changing the subject.

“Well, I thought that it only seemed fair to let Dani pick, it’s her first movie night with us,” Viola explained, “I mean, I’m happy to give up my night for Dani, and then we’ll just follow the usual pattern until it comes back to my night… if you’re all alright with that?”

Hannah, Rebecca, and Jamie each nodded their heads, Jamie was actually quite thankful that Viola wouldn’t be picking, she wasn’t sure she would be able to sit through another one of Viola’s sappy romantic comedies or her tear-jerkers. She just hoped that Dani had better taste in movies than her cousin did.

“I am suddenly feeling a lot of pressure to pick a good movie,” Dani admitted, “I’m not so sure I wanna do this anymore,” She gave a small chuckle.

“Don’t worry about it,” Hannah shook her head, “The worst that happens is you never get invited to one of these things again,” She joked.

Dani gave another small laugh, “Oh is that all?” She asked.

Rebecca nodded her head and smiled, “Yeah… but I mean, you should see some of the shite Jamie and Arthur make us watch,” She chuckled, “I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”

Jamie furrowed her eyebrows tightly, “Uh, excuse me, I don’t pick shit films,” She shook her head, “In fact, the last time I picked a film you all really enjoyed it,” She reminded them, “So don’t come at me with that bullshit, Becs.”

“What type of movies do you pick?” Dani asked, “Just so I know what type of stuff to avoid,” She added jokingly.

“Horrors and psychological thrillers mainly,” Viola said, answering the question for Jamie, “Sometimes she’ll surprise us and pick a comedy or an old 80s classic, like last time she picked, we all watched, _Weird Science."_

“Oh, I love that movie,” Dani smiled.

“Thank you,” Jamie sighed, “Can you believe that up until three weeks ago, Peter and Rebecca had _never_ seen it?” She asked.

Dani shook her head, “That’s a little bit ridiculous,” She teased, “I’m surprised you allowed Rebecca to come to this one after something like that.”

Jamie shrugged, “If I’d had my way she wouldn’t be here,” She joked, Rebecca gave her a playful shove, almost making her spill her wine, and earning them both a harsh glare from Viola as Jamie only just managed to keep the red wine away from the cream cushions.

"Can you not do that when there's _red wine_ involved?" She asked. 

“Sorry Mum,” Rebecca mumbled, a joking tone entering her voice as she and Jamie quickly looked away from her intense glare.

Viola shook her head and sighed, “Dani can you please just pick a movie before they destroy the place?”

“Can do,” Dani nodded before she moved to look through Viola and Arthur’s DVD collection kept in the TV cabinet, “What kind of thing do you all wanna watch?” Dani asked.

“That’s not how it works,” Jamie chuckled, Dani looked over her shoulder and gave her a questioning look, “It doesn’t matter what any of us want to watch… we _have_ to watch whatever you pick.”

“Without complaint?”

Jamie shook her head, “No, if it’s shit, we can definitely complain,” She admitted with a chuckle.

“No pressure at all then,” Dani mumbled as she continued to look through Viola’s DVD collection.

* * *

Dani had taken a while going over her options time and time again, before finally picking a musical, which, had anyone else chosen _Grease 2_ , Jamie might have been a little bit annoyed. Though there was something about the way Dani confidently claimed that it was her favourite of the two movies, that Jamie couldn’t help but find endearing about her choice, Viola, had not shared the same sentiments as her cousin, claiming she only owned the second one because it came as a boxset with the first movie.

Viola's annoyance only seemed to spur Dani on with her choice, while Rebecca stated she'd never seen the movie and didn't really see how it could be _that_ bad, a sentiment that quickly vanished as the movie progressed. They’d watched the movie, with Viola making countless complaints about the quality of the movie and the songs within it, while Dani just sang over her cousin’s complaints, making Jamie find the whole situation that little bit funnier.

After that movie had finished, Viola refused to let movie night end there, demanding that she pick a second movie to get them all over the ordeal of having to sit through _Grease 2_ , and give them a chance of ending Dani's first girls' move night on a high note. During the break between movies, Dani had slipped out onto the balcony, excusing herself from the group, claiming she needed a little air to clear her head after the amount of wine she’d had that night.

Jamie watched She watched as Dani furrowed her eyebrows slightly at her phone screen, one hand at her mouth as she chewed gently on her fingers, her cheeks tinted red from the heat inside the flat, and from their drinking. She glanced around the room, noting that Viola was busy in the kitchen making cocktails with Hannah and Rebecca, and saw the perfect opportunity to spend a little time with Dani, away from Viola’s glacial stare.

Jamie quickly moved to the balcony, sliding the door open slowly as she walked out into the cool night air, “Do you mind if I join you?” She asked, already closing the balcony door behind her with a quiet click, Dani looked up from her phone and shook her head slowly before this slipped the phone into her back pocket.

“No, be my guest,” She replied, “Did you need some air too?”

This time, Jamie shook her head, holding up her packet of cigarettes, she knew her habit of smoking was the perfect excuse to be outside, “No, not really, quite the opposite actually,” She joked, “You don’t mind me disrupting your peace to do this, right?” She asked, quickly lighting her cigarette and pushing the carton back into her pocket. 

Dani shook her head, “No, not at all,” She replied a small smile on her lips.

Jamie came to stand beside Dani, resting her back against the railings of the balcony, taking a slow drag of her cigarette, “You don’t want one as well, do you?” She asked, reaching into her pocket once more.

“No, I don’t really smoke.”

“But you do sometimes?”

“Socially, sometimes, I guess,” She replied, “But that’s more if everyone around me is,” She admitted, “Y’know sort of like a _when in Rome_ situation?” She asked, “Or if I’m having like a real night out, and I’ve been drinking a lot, then I’ll smoke too.”

Jamie gave a small understanding now, “I wish I only smoked in those situations,” She admitted, taking another, shorter drag before she rolled her eyes, “Well, no if I’m wishing for stuff, I wish I’d never started in the first place.”

“Well, you could always quit,” Dani pointed out, “There’s nothing stopping you doing that, right?” She asked.

“I think the stress of being friends with people like Viola and Peter is singlehandedly responsible for the amount that I do smoke,” She joked, “Quitting is impossible around them.”

“Sounds like you need some better influences,” Dani teased.

Jamie nodded her head in agreement, “Yeah, I probably do to be fair, but I kind of like the friends I’ve got… don’t tell them that though,” She smiled.

“Your secret’s safe with me,” Dani replied, pulling her phone from her pocket and smiling softly before she locked it and slid it back into her back pocket turning her attention to Jamie once more.

“You don’t wanna get that?” Jamie asked, nodding in the direction of Dani’s phone.

The blonde shook her head slowly, “No it’s just my old group chat with some friends,” She explained, “Just asking how my first week went at my new job… I’ll reply later.”

“Yeah, speaking of, how was the first week?” Jamie asked, “I mean, you seem in good spirits, so I’m guessing it’s been alright?”

Dani nodded her head and smiled, “Yeah, it went great, thank you… the kids seem to like me…” She admitted, “Some of them drew some pictures of me during their ‘golden time’ today.”

“Golden time?”

“Yeah, for the last twenty minutes of the day on a Friday, they have golden time, which is just time for them to do whatever they want, some kids play games, some kids paint or draw,” She shrugged, “And today some of the girls drew pictures of me… was kind of cute.”

Jamie nodded her head, "Sounds it,” She replied, “I did say you had nothing to worry about, and it sounds like you’re a real-life Mary Poppins.”

Dani gave her a small laugh and shook her head, “I wouldn’t go that far,” She said, “But, uh, thanks… you were right about everything going well… Thank you for giving me a little bit of a confidence boost last week… I needed it,” She sighed, "I was pretty stressed about starting this new job, and I have been so stressed all week... now the first week is over, I just feel relieved y'know?" 

She closed her eyes, and tilted her head back slightly, letting the light, cool rain wash over her, her delicate features highlighted by the dim outside lighting, beautiful seemed to be the only right word to describe Dani, "Thank's for having faith in me when I didn't have it in myself," Dani muttered. 

“No need to thank me,” Jamie replied shaking her head, taking another long drag, and exhaling slowly, “I mean, just hearing you say I was right is thanks enough for me,” she joked with a small shrug.

Dani opened her eyes slowly and turned her head to face Jamie, a small smile spreading across her lips, making Jamie’s heart race. The more Dani caused these involuntary effects on her, the more Jamie realised just how much trouble she was in when it came to Dani.

She remembered what happened the last time someone made her feel this way from a simple smile.

“Oh, is that so?” She asked.

Jamie nodded her head, “Yeah, I mean, no one else around here likes to admit that I’m right more often than not,” She joked, “Hearing it twice in one night is quite scary, I’m starting to think something is seriously wrong.”

Dani smiled again and shook her head slowly, “Well… I promise… _if_ you’re every right while I’m around, I’ll make sure that everyone knows about it…”

Jamie smiled and nodded her head slowly, “Oh I like the sound of that one,” She replied, “And I promise, to do my duty as the official welcome committee of the London Branch…” She added jokingly. 

"And I like the sound of that," Dani replied, "But can I ask, what does the welcome committee do?” She asked, “You gonna show me around the city?”

Jamie nodded her head, “If you want me to, yeah,” She smiled, “I can think of a few places you might like, actually… if you’re up for that, that is?”

Dani nodded her head slowly, “Actually… that would be great… it’d be nice to be shown around by someone who knows the area better than what I did alone…I've probably missed some pretty great stuff on my solo travels.”

“Okay then it’s settled, I am going to be your new tour guide for all the best places to go to… hope you don’t mind riding the tube though because we’re gonna have to do that a lot.”

“I think I can be okay with that,” She nodded a bright smile crossing her face as she turned her whole body to face Jamie’s, “So what else comes with the official welcome to the London-queer-branch… you gonna be my wing-woman?” She asked, the joking tone back to her voice.

Jamie shook her head slowly while going out with Dani to meet women would surely be a fun way to wind up Viola, there was only one person Jamie was actually interested in getting together with Dani, and that person was herself. “I _really_ don’t think you’re gonna need a wing-woman, like, at all,” Jamie replied with a small chuckle, shaking her head slowly.

“Why not?” Dani asked, her eyebrows furrowed slightly, her head tilting to the side.

“Are you kidding me? Someone as pretty as you?” Jamie shook her head slowly, “You’re gonna have women beating your door down in no time,” She said, a small smile tugging at her lips.

It registered somewhere in her mind, that promising to spend time with just Dani showing her around the city, paired with her calling Dani pretty, probably went against some of the things that she had promised Viola, but she couldn’t exactly take any of it back now that it was out there.

And the thought of spending time alone with Dani was far too enjoyable for her to even want to change her mind.

“You think I’m pretty?” Dani asked, a small, shy smiling pulling at her lips, her blue eyes searching Jamie’s face seemingly looking for any signs of her lying.

Jamie nodded her head, again, she knew it violated a lot of the things she and Viola had discussed earlier, but she had always felt like honesty was the best policy, and she wasn’t going to change that now simply because Viola didn’t like the thought of anything happening between herself and Dani.

“I think you might be a bit _too_ pretty,” She admitted.

Dani’s smile grew, “Yeah?” She asked, her voice soft.

Jamie chuckled and nodded her head, “Yeah… you sound shocked by that?”

Dani shrugged, “I’ve never really been described as too pretty before,” She admitted, “I didn’t think something like that was possible,” She admitted, “I mean, how can that be a bad thing?”

Jamie smiled and shook her head, “I didn’t say it was a bad thing, Dani,” She admitted, “I just don’t think it’s fair for someone to be as pretty as you are… that’s what I mean by you’re too pretty.”

“Well thank you,” Dani smiled a slight blush to her cheeks, “I think I’m gonna head back inside,” She said, and Jamie felt her stomach knot slightly, worrying she might have pushed things too far, Dani craned her neck slightly looking into the flat before turning her attention back to Jamie, “Before I go… can I have some of that?” She asked pointing to the small amount of Jamie’s cigarette that remained.

Jamie nodded her head dumbly, slowly handing the cigarette to her. Dani took a short drag of the cigarette, drawing attention to her lips, and light red lipstick she was wearing, before handing it back to Jamie and exhaling slowly, again Jamie couldn't look anywhere other than Dani's lips and she wondered if that had all been part of Dani's plan,

“Thanks,” She replied moving past her, she turned as she reached the door, “Oh, and Jamie?” She asked.

“Yeah?” She sighed.

“For what it’s worth…” She smiled, “I _know_ you might be a bit too pretty,” She admitted, "Thanks for sharing with me tonight," She smiled, pointing at the cig in Jamie's hand, letting Jamie know that her earlier theories about Dani's plan had in fact been correct.

"Anytime," Jamie mumbled, watching as Dani walked back into the flat, closing the door behind her and shooting Jamie a playful wink through the glass doors before she turned and headed into the kitchen to join the others.

She could feel her heart rate increase tenfold from Dani’s small flirtatious actions, and she didn’t know if it had been the moment of privacy between them that had allowed Dani the room to make her admission or if it had been the glasses of wine.

All Jamie knew was that it was entirely too welcome, and she wanted more of it.

* * *

Jamie hadn't been able to stop thinking about Dani's flirtatious comments or actions on the balcony, for the rest of the night all her senses had been clouded with _Dani._ She couldn’t deny the chemistry between them, she’d only known herself to experience something like this _once before_ , and that thought terrified her more than she was willing to admit.

As she made the short walk home that night, she allowed the cool air to clear her head, cooling her down in all senses of the word, her mindset firmly on getting home and sleeping off whatever feeling was coursing through her body. Convincing herself it was all down to the thrill of flirting with Dani, mixed with the alcohol more than anything else. 

She had to force herself to remember the conversation she’d had with Viola, willing herself to think about icy eyes, and tensed jaws, rather than soft smiles and lilting laughs. 

Jamie had made Viola countless promises that she would be nothing more than a friend to Dani. That she would simply be a part of her support system to help her with her newfound confidence in her sexuality.

But she knew that if Dani kept flirting with her the way she had that night, keeping those promises, was going to be a near-impossible task, and the more she thought about it, the more she wasn’t entirely sure they were promises she wanted to keep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know if anyone will be interested or not, but I have decided to start a Tumblr that is linked to this account because there is no messaging feature on Archive which I think sucks!! Feel free to come and check it out, or even just to say hi, or ask any questions you might have about this fic or my other fic Stop Me From Falling, or just for a chat about our favourite 80s lesbian couple. My tumbrl is colour-outside-the-liness . tumblr. com (it's a secondary account so unfortunately, I won't be able to follow anyone back on that account)


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